Pope Leo XIV meets young people in Buenos Aires, visits the Devoto prison and celebrates mass in Luján before leaving for Peru
On the sixth day of his trip to South America, Pope Leo XIV met young Argentines during a vigil at the Monumento a los Españoles, in the capital Buenos Aires. A direct dialogue, without filters, in which the Pontiff answered the children’s questions by addressing the most concrete issues of daily life: personal limits, work, the idols of the present time.
To a young woman who asked him what to do when one comes up against one’s limits in serving the most excluded, Leone responded with a simple but profound logic: «Do everything you can, put all your heart into it and join your efforts with those of others. When you reach the limit of your strength, remember that God’s strength never runs out.” An invitation, in short, to keep our feet on the ground without ever losing faith in the transcendent.
Because work and faith are not separate
To a boy who struggled to keep the spiritual and professional dimensions together, the Pope proposed a unified vision of existence: «We must not live two lives, one for God and the other for our occupations. When you work, study or spend time with your friends, do it with love and offer it to the Lord. Thus your work also becomes prayer and a path to holiness.”
It is a point that has deep roots in the Catholic tradition, from the thought of Saint Josemaria Escrivá up to the theology of work developed by John Paul II. Leo XIV he took it up again in accessible language, without weighing it down with quotations, addressing a generation accustomed to compartmentalizing their identities.
One of the key moments of the evening was when the Pontiff openly named the traps that, in his opinion, undermine today’s young people: “Idols are raised that demand our adoration: success at any price, money, the obsession with physical appearance, with popularity or with the unbridled pursuit of pleasure.” Leone indicated specific behaviors: lying on social media to gain approval, humiliating others out of envy, treating people like objects out of selfishness. And he also cited “pornography and various substances” as forms of pleasure that “end up enslaving us”.
The reference to Augustine of Hippo it is not accidental (after all, it is no mystery that the Pope is profoundly Augustinian). «Agostino told us: “Today I am standing”. You too are called to stand before the idols of our time”, said Leone. The bishop of Hippo, before converting, had gone through experiences of dispersion and aimless search. Quoting it in front of young people therefore means strongly reaffirming that the fall is not the last word. «And if you have ever fallen, get up again! Don’t allow anything or anyone to take away the freedom that God has given you.”
The Church as a refuge for those who feel isolated
Leo XIV he then broadened his gaze towards those who feel on the margins of the ecclesial community. He recognized the existence, in the audience in front of him, of very different stories: those who grew in faith, those who stopped praying, those who were hurt by the Church itself or by those who should have accompanied them on their journey. He addressed the same message to everyone: «There is a place for you in the Church. With your questions, your wounds and your story. This is your home too” And he continued: “To you, who think it’s already too late to start over, I would like to say: welcome! It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done: Jesus Christ knows you, loves you and wants you to be close to Him.” This is not a call for moral perfection as a prerequisite for membership, but an unconditional welcome that reflects the heart of the Gospel.
Before leaving Argentina, Leo XIV wanted to conclude the stay with two significant stages. On the morning of November 12 he visited the Devoto prison, about 25 kilometers from Buenos Aires. Inaugurated in 1927 as an institute for minor crimes, Devoto brings with it a painful memory: during the military dictatorship of the seventies and eighties it was used as a clandestine torture center to detain political activists. In 1978, a riot broke out there, known as the «Motín de los colchones» or «Pavilion 7 massacre», which ended with over 60 dead and 85 injured. Today the penitentiary is in the phase of progressive dismantling: in October the transfer of prisoners to a new complex in Marcos Paz began. In this very particular setting, Leone listened to some testimonies and greeted the prisoners still present.
Immediately afterwards, the Pope went to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Luján, in the heart of the Argentine pampas, one of the most venerated places of Marian worship in the entire South American continent. Here he presided over the mass in the Basilica before the farewell ceremony with the president Javier Milei at Buenos Aires International Airport.
Pope Leo XIV’s next stop
This afternoon, November 12th, Leo XIV he leaves Argentina to reach Peru, where he spent years as a missionary and then as a bishop. Landing at the Callao Air Base, near Lima, is scheduled for 5.30pm local time. The president is waiting for him Keiko Fujimori and the Foreign Minister Carlos Espá. In the evening the Pope meets the civil authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps at the Gran Teatro Nacional del Perú. A return that for Provost it undoubtedly tastes like home.
