Archbishop Colombo: Pope’s visit to Argentina will bring a message of peace

By María Cecilia Mutual 

The Catholic Church in Argentina is eagerly awaiting Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the country, confirmed today by the Holy See Press Office. The long-awaited event offers an opportunity to strengthen the faith and renew the Catholic community’s commitment to evangelisation.

“It is a visit that everyone has been eagerly awaiting,” Archbishop Marcelo Daniel Colombo, President of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference and Archbishop of Mendoza, told Vatican News. “We are overjoyed to welcome the Holy Father to our country, receiving him as a witness to Christ and a pilgrim of His Good News. We know he brings us a message of hope; we know he comes in the name of Christ; and we know he also brings us the joy of the Gospel.”

The Archbishop was speaking following the announcement on 5 August of Pope Leo’s Apostolic Journey to South America, which will take place from 6 to 17 November.

The Pope will visit Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján from 8 to 11 November. Argentina will be the second country on the itinerary of his sixth international Apostolic Journey, following Uruguay and before Peru.

Careful preparations with a strong pastoral focus

Preparations began as soon as the possibility of a papal visit emerged. Archbishop Colombo said teams had been established to oversee the practical organisation of the visit, study Pope Leo’s recent journeys and consult Church officials involved in organising them.

“As part of this process, we studied the experiences of the most recent Apostolic Visits and consulted the Church officials who took part in organising them,” he explained.

The diversity and vitality of the Church in Argentina

Beyond the logistical arrangements, Archbishop Colombo stressed the strong pastoral focus of the preparations.

“What we consider important is the vitality of the Church that will receive him,” he said. “The life of that Church is represented through its bishops. For this reason, the Pope’s visit was a central topic of discussion during the latest plenary assembly of the Argentine bishops.”

The bishops shared their views and expectations in light of the different realities facing the country’s dioceses and provinces, with the aim of ensuring that the visit reflects the diversity and vitality of the Church in Argentina.

A bearer of peace

The Archbishop of Mendoza noted that Pope Leo’s “words and gestures as a good shepherd” have accompanied the Church and the faithful ever since he began his ministry.

“Now we will have him among us, sharing an evangelising visit with the Argentine people and bringing his powerful message of peace, commitment to human dignity and ongoing ecclesial renewal,” he said.

“Synodality and mission—mission and synodality—closely intertwined, are recurring themes in the Holy Father’s messages and proposals,” he added.

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A celebration in Luján, where Bergoglio so often prayed

Before leaving Argentina, Pope Leo will travel to Luján to pray before Our Lady of Luján, the country’s patroness.

Archbishop Colombo said the celebration “will be a source of joy and an opportunity to encounter our Mother, the patroness of all Argentines”.

“To have the Pope there—as we so often had Cardinal Bergoglio, Bishop Bergoglio and Father Bergoglio, and as we once welcomed Pope John Paul II—will be a beautiful and truly wonderful opportunity to experience the Pope’s visit in unity and in the spirit of God’s children,” the President of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference concluded.