In a city transformed into something resembling both a vast open air Marian shrine and an Argentine soccer stadium, Pope Leo XIV celebrated the final Mass of his visit to Argentina before leaving for Peru. Source: OSV News.
During the Mass the Pope called the country to “rise up and walk” along paths of reconciliation, communion and mission.
The Holy See Press Office reported that more than 2 million people had converged on Luján for the November 11 Mass. The district has only 111,000 residents, meaning the crowd was approximately 20 times its normal population.
Pope Leo’s vestments offered a final visual synthesis of the celebration. Instead of the green ordinarily associated with Ordinary Time, he wore a pale blue chasuble embroidered in gold with the mantle of Our Lady of Luján. The colours evoked both the Virgin and the Argentine flag.
Among those given privileged places near the celebration were thousands of young men and women accompanied by the Familia Grande Hogar de Cristo, a Church-rooted network that assists people struggling with drug addiction and extreme social exclusion. Other reserved spaces were assigned to representatives of Catholic charitable organisations and groups serving vulnerable communities.
In his homily, Pope Leo acknowledged that many Argentine families are living through their own experiences of Calvary, including illness, poverty, unemployment, discrimination and family breakdown.
“We need to reconcile ourselves with our past and present, in order to build a new future where love has the final word,” he said.
Pope Leo noted that his pontificate began May 8, the feast of Our Lady of Luján. As millions of Argentines have done, he entrusted himself to her protection and asked her to guide the apostolic mission the Lord had given him.
“Help them to build bridges of charity and networks of solidarity,” he prayed for the Argentine people. “Inspire in them the desire to continue along paths of reconciliation, communion and mission, illuminated by the word of your son Jesus Christ and firmly grounded in him.”
Before departing for Peru, the country where he spent much of his priestly ministry, Pope Leo thanked Argentina for receiving him “with open arms.”
“I have indeed felt at home,” he said after the Mass, telling the Argentine people that he would carry them all in his heart. “Let us remain united in Christ, praying for one another and entrusting ourselves to the maternal protection of Our Lady of Luján.”
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At Argentina’s national shrine, Pope Leo calls country to reconciliation, communion and mission (By Ines San Martin, OSV News)
