# President Milei welcomes Pope Leo during historic visit to Argentina

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/president-milei-welcomes-pope-leo-during-historic-visit-to-argentina/
- Published: 2026-11-08T22:16:50+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-08T23:35:58+00:00
- Original publisher: Al Jazeera (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/8/president-milei-welcomes-pope-leo-during-historic-visit-to-argentina?traffic_source=rss
- Topics: Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Pope Leo XIV began his first papal visit to Argentina since 1987.
- He is due to meet Milei amid disputes over austerity and social spending.
- Argentina’s self-identified Catholic share fell from 71% to 58% in a decade.

## Summary

President Javier Milei welcomed Pope Leo XIV to Argentina, where the pontiff’s visit comes amid tensions over the government’s austerity policies and the Church’s criticism of cuts to support for poorer people. The trip is significant as the first papal visit to Argentina since 1987, and as Leo visits the home country of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never travelled there as pope.

Leo, 71 and the first US-born pope, arrived after spending three days in Uruguay and will stay in Argentina until Wednesday. His programme includes meetings with Milei and other officials, visits to a prison, and Masses in Buenos Aires, Lujan and Cordoba; Catholics remain Latin America’s largest religious group, though Argentina’s share fell from 71 per cent in 2013–14 to 58 per cent a decade later.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.