Pope Leo XIV is heading to Argentina on Sunday for a four-day visit expected to put his emphasis on poverty and social protection alongside President Javier Milei’s sweeping austerity program.
The visit follows three days in Uruguay and will begin with an official welcome in Buenos Aires, followed by a meeting with Milei and an address to political leaders, civil society and diplomats.
Argentina’s Catholic Church has repeatedly criticized reductions in social spending under Milei, who took office in December 2023 promising deep cuts to state expenditure to stabilize the economy and curb inflation.
Milei has defended the program as necessary to restore public finances, while church figures have raised concerns about its effects on poorer households and vulnerable groups.
Argentina’s official statistics agency, INDEC, reported that 32.3% of people in the country’s 31 main urban areas were below the poverty line in the first half of 2026.
That figure was published on September 24, rather than representing a September poverty rate as some coverage has suggested.
Leo’s itinerary will place particular emphasis on groups affected by social and economic pressures.
The Vatican says he will visit the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione disability care center in Claypole on Monday and a federal prison in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
He is also scheduled to celebrate public Masses in Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján.
The trip is the first papal visit to Argentina since Pope John Paul II travelled through the country from April 6 to April 12, 1987, according to Vatican records.
Pope Francis, who was born in Argentina and served as archbishop of Buenos Aires before his election in 2013, did not return to the country during his 12-year pontificate.
Leo arrives from Uruguay, where he celebrated Mass in Florida on Sunday before his scheduled afternoon flight to Buenos Aires.
The Vatican itinerary places his meeting with Milei at the Casa Rosada shortly after his arrival, followed by a speech at the Palacio Libertad.
The encounter will be closely watched for how Leo addresses poverty, economic policy and political divisions without directly intervening in Argentina’s domestic politics.
Milei’s government has said the visit should be viewed as a religious event rather than a partisan one.