The Pope Leo XIV Argentina visit reached its first full day on Monday, November 9, 2026, moving from a quiet morning visit at a Catholic care home for people with disabilities to a huge open-air Mass in Buenos Aires that organizers expect to draw more than 1.5 million people. The day began at 09:15 local time with a visit to the Don Orione Little Cottolengo in Claypole, about 26 kilometers from the capital, and it will end with evening prayer and dinner with the Argentine bishops. The visit comes on the second day of the pope’s 12-day tour of South America and follows a warm welcome from President Javier Milei on Sunday. Here is what happened on Monday and what is still to come.
Table of Contents
Quick Facts
| Detail | What happened |
|---|---|
| Date | Monday, November 9, 2026, the second day of the pope’s visit to Argentina |
| Morning visit | 09:15, Don Orione Little Cottolengo in Claypole, home to about 400 residents with disabilities |
| Main Mass | 11:30 at the Monument to the Spaniards in Buenos Aires, crowd expected to pass 1.5 million |
| Communion | More than 150 priests and 2,030 designated ministers will distribute Communion |
| Afternoon | 16:10 meeting with the world of work at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina |
| Evening | 18:45 Vespers with the Argentine bishops at the Metropolitan Cathedral, then dinner at 19:45 |
| Historic note | First visit by a pope to Argentina since John Paul II in April 1987, 39 years ago |
| The tour | November 6 to 17, covering Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, with 36 speeches planned |
Pope Leo XIV Argentina: A Morning at the Cottolengo in Claypole
The pope’s first full day in Argentina began away from the crowds and the cameras of the capital. At 09:15 local time he visited the Don Orione Little Cottolengo in Claypole, a Catholic home for people with disabilities about 26 kilometers from Buenos Aires. The home is home to about 400 residents, and the visit gave the pope a quiet start to a day that will end in front of one of the largest crowds of his pontificate so far.
The choice of the Cottolengo as the first stop of the day says a lot about the message of this visit. It is a place built around care for people who are often pushed to the edge of public life, and the pope spent the morning there with residents and staff. For a 71-year-old pope who is making this trip less than a month after lung cancer surgery, it was also a gentle way to open a long day that runs from morning until night.
He arrived in Buenos Aires on Sunday from Uruguay, and our report on the arrival covers the welcome from President Javier Milei and the 40-minute private meeting at the Casa Rosada, as covered in our report on the pope’s arrival in Argentina
A Mass for More Than 1.5 Million People
The centerpiece of Monday is the Holy Mass at 11:30 local time at the Monument to the Spaniards in Buenos Aires. Organizers expect the crowd to pass 1.5 million people, which would make it one of the largest gatherings of the pope’s tour. More than 150 priests and 2,030 designated ministers are set to distribute Communion across the site, a plan that shows just how large the organizers expect the crowd to be.
The Mass is scheduled for the late morning in Buenos Aires, which is 19:30 in Pakistan time, and it is the moment the whole country has been waiting for. For many Argentines it will be their first chance to see a pope celebrate Mass on home soil in 39 years. The last papal visit to Argentina came in April 1987, when John Paul II traveled to the country. Pope Francis, who was born in Buenos Aires, never returned home during his 12-year pontificate, which makes this Mass feel even more special for the people who plan to attend.
The scale recalls the pope’s first Mass in Uruguay, where about 40,000 people gathered in Paysandu on November 7, as covered in our report on the pope’s first Mass in Uruguay
The Disability Funding Question
The Cottolengo visit also puts a hard question in front of the Argentine government. According to the home’s staff, government deliveries of medicines, diapers, dressings and food stopped in November 2025, and the home has relied on its own funds and donations since then. President Milei’s government has made wide-ranging cuts to disability funding, and the pope’s morning at the home has turned a spotlight on what those cuts mean for the people who depend on the care.
The visit lands in a country where the debate about poverty and public spending is raw and open. Archbishop Jorge Ignacio Garcia Cuerva of Buenos Aires has described Argentina as a country that, in some places, is “uninhabitable” and where “the poor are the ones who pay the price”. Official poverty figures fell from 52.9 percent in the first half of 2024 to 28.2 percent in the second half of 2025, then rose again to 32.3 percent in the first half of 2026, according to official data cited in reporting on the visit.
The pope touched on these themes on Sunday when he addressed government officials, civil society leaders and diplomats at the Palacio Libertad. In that speech he said democracy “needs to be safeguarded” and is strengthened by “careful use of words”, and he said the economy must benefit everyone. Monday’s visit to the Cottolengo gives those words a human face, in a home where the effects of funding cuts are felt every day.
An Afternoon and Evening With Workers and Bishops
After the Mass, the pope’s schedule stays full. At 16:10 he is set to meet with the world of work at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, a meeting that brings him together with people from across Argentine working life. The meeting follows the same thread as his Sunday speech about an economy that must benefit everyone, and it gives workers a direct hearing with the pope.
At 18:45 he is scheduled to lead Vespers with the Argentine bishops at the Metropolitan Cathedral, and at 19:45 he will have dinner with the bishops. The evening events close a day that moves from a care home to a Mass for more than a million people and then to prayer with the country’s bishops.
The Vatican has also announced that the pope will hold private meetings with survivors of abuse by clergy or other Church personnel during this three-country journey, without disclosing where those meetings will take place. The announcement adds a serious note to a tour that is already packed with public events.
The scale of the trip is large by any measure. The 12-day South America tour runs from November 6 to 17 and covers Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, with 36 speeches, 14 flights and two helicopter rides planned across the journey.
What Comes Next: Cordoba, Lujan and Peru
Monday is only the middle of the pope’s time in Argentina, and the next two days are just as full. On Tuesday, November 10, the pope travels to Cordoba in the morning, celebrates Mass at the Military Aviation School and meets clergy and religious workers, then returns to Buenos Aires for a youth vigil that evening.
On Wednesday, November 11, his final day in Argentina, he visits the Devoto federal prison and celebrates the Mass of Charity at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lujan, the national Marian shrine, before heading to Peru for six days. The Lujan Mass is likely to be another huge moment, at a shrine that holds a special place in Argentine Catholic life.
The tour began in Uruguay, where the pope arrived to a warm welcome before traveling on to Argentina, as covered in our report on the pope’s arrival in Uruguay
FAQs
Why is this visit to Argentina historic?
It is the first visit by a pope to Argentina since John Paul II in April 1987, a gap of 39 years. Pope Francis, who was born in Buenos Aires, never returned home during his 12-year pontificate, which makes this visit the first chance in nearly four decades for Argentines to welcome a pope on home soil.
What happened at the Cottolengo on Monday?
At 09:15 local time the pope visited the Don Orione Little Cottolengo in Claypole, a Catholic home for people with disabilities about 26 kilometers from Buenos Aires and home to about 400 residents. The visit put a spotlight on disability funding cuts, as the home’s staff say government deliveries of medicines, diapers, dressings and food stopped in November 2025.
How many people are expected at the Buenos Aires Mass?
Organizers expect the crowd at the 11:30 Mass at the Monument to the Spaniards to pass 1.5 million people. More than 150 priests and 2,030 designated ministers are set to distribute Communion.
What happens next on the tour?
On Tuesday, November 10, the pope travels to Cordoba for a Mass at the Military Aviation School and meetings with clergy and religious workers, then returns to Buenos Aires for a youth vigil. On Wednesday, November 11, he visits the Devoto federal prison and celebrates the Mass of Charity at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lujan before heading to Peru for six days.
Sources
Final Thoughts
Day Two of the pope’s Argentina visit shows the two sides of this trip in a single day. In the morning there was a quiet visit to a care home where funding cuts are felt in medicines, diapers and food. By late morning there was a Mass planned for more than 1.5 million people in the heart of Buenos Aires. The contrast is the story of this visit, a pope who speaks about democracy and an economy that must benefit everyone, and then goes to see the people who pay the price when it does not. With Cordoba, Lujan and Peru still ahead, the days to come will show whether that message keeps landing as loudly as it did on Monday.
