Pope Leo XIV urged Argentines to "go forth and be saints" on Tuesday as he rallied hundreds of thousands of faithful in the northern city of Cordoba.
The 71-year-old leader of the Catholic Church is on a 12-day Latin America tour less than a month after he underwent surgery for lung cancer.
Calling on the country's citizens to follow the example of a litany of Argentinian saints, the pontiff encouraged them to evangelize in everyday life.
Throughout his three days in Argentina, the pontiff has frequently challenged the country's rightist leader Javier Milei to make the economy more inclusive, support trade unions and arrest funding cuts that hurt the poor and those with disabilities.
At a Mass on the esplanade of a military aircraft factory in Cordoba, which officials said drew 650,000 pilgrims, the pope continued his evangelizing message.
In Argentina's saints, he said, there is "a unity between passion for the Gospel and commitment to building a fraternal and caring nation."
The call extends to daily life, he said, "at school and in the square, in the family and with friends, in the countryside and in the city, at the dairy farm and in the office. Go forth and evangelize!"
On Monday, some 2.5 million people gathered in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires for the largest Mass of his pontificate so far.
As pilgrims waited for the pope, giant screens broadcast images of Leo's arrival in Cordoba, sparking cheers from the crowd as his plane touched down.
Many people filmed the screens on their mobile phones while others sang the national anthem.
The gathering reflected the broad appeal Leo has enjoyed in Argentina, extending beyond regular churchgoers.
Joaquin Assad, a 24-year-old student, said he rarely attended Mass outside Christmas and Easter but still considered himself close to God.
Like many young Argentines, he was drawn by the pope's recent comments about artificial intelligence.
"I've brought personal problems to ChatGPT," Assad said with a sheepish smile.
His friend Giovanni Giglio, 23, sipping mate and wearing aviator sunglasses, said he appreciated Leo's message that AI should be used as a tool rather than become something essential.
Others said they were encouraged by the pope's criticism of an economic model they believe has left many Argentines behind.
Laura Sosa, 49, who works on maintenance of Hercules aircraft at the state-owned aviation company Fadea, said workers there had endured delayed wage payments and periods of reduced activity.
"There are a lot of people on the streets and people eating out of the garbage because their subsidies were taken away," she said, describing what she sees as rising poverty in Cordoba.
Carlos Rubio, a 75-year-old retired YPF worker attending the Mass with his wife while visiting relatives in the region, said he hoped Leo would continue speaking out on social issues.
"There is no social justice," Rubio said. "I hope the pope's message on that is clear for our president."
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