Pope Leo XIV visited a home for people with disabilities on the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Monday, telling Argentines that a nation's progress should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens.
Thousands lined the roads leading to the Pequeno Cottolengo, a sprawling care home founded in 1935 for abandoned people with disabilities, in the working-class Buenos Aires suburb of Claypole.
Addressing residents, staff and volunteers, Leo said disabled people were "not a burden on society" but "a blessing."
"A nation's progress is also measured by how it welcomes all people with disabilities and particular needs," he said.
His remarks touched on a sensitive issue in Argentina, where disability organizations and Church leaders have voiced concern over measures affecting assistance programs under President Javier Milei's austerity drive.
Founded by an Italian saint, Cottolengo is one of Argentina's best-known Catholic charitable institutions.
The Vatican describes the sprawling 50-hectare (124-acre) complex as a "city of charity."
The stop formed part of Leo's first trip to Latin America as pope, a tour taking him to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where the Chicago-born pontiff spent years as a missionary and bishop before his election.
Crowds cheered and waved Vatican yellow-and-white flags as Leo arrived in the popemobile, smiling and waving back.
Others held homemade signs reading "Welcome Pope Leo" and "Bless this country."
While some pilgrims left after catching a glimpse of the pope, others stayed to watch giant screens showing him greeting residents inside the home and shaking a seemingly endless line of outstretched hands.
Many in the crowd had arrived hours earlier.
Chamame folk music played over loudspeakers while pilgrims from the northeastern province of Corrientes passed the time dancing and letting out traditional cries.
In his speech, Leo praised communities that uphold the dignity and inclusion of people often pushed to society's margins.
"Places like this have much to say to our societies, which are often driven solely by the pursuit of economic success or the cult of outward appearance," he said.
The visit also followed comments by Leo a day earlier that appeared to challenge Milei's economic policies.
Speaking after arriving in Argentina on Sunday, the pope said the economy should serve people rather than the reverse and called for special concern for those affected by "illness, dependency and disability."
Leo also expressed hope that Argentina would remain a country where "the love of Christ triumphs over individualism and exclusion," and urged young people to embrace what he called the country's tradition of charity.
Across Buenos Aires, enthusiasm for the first papal visit to Argentina in decades was evident in souvenir stalls selling T-shirts, caps and flags bearing Leo's image.
His likeness has even appeared on alfajores pastries and jars of dulce de leche as Argentines celebrate the landmark visit.
bur-arb/mlm
