Pope Leo XIV praises the Christian family’s contributions to Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Pope Leo XIV praised the Christian family as a source of strength for the Church in Argentina and for the country’s society in general at an open-air Mass in the capital on Nov. 9.

“The family is the place where faith, human virtues, a culture of work, respect for the elderly, the defense of life, and fidelity to one’s word are handed on,” the pope told crowds filling wide avenues that had been closed to traffic.

Approximately 2.5 million faithful gather for Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV at the Monument de los Españoles in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 9, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

“Do not give in to those who dismiss the Christian family as outdated. On the contrary, today more than ever, it remains a pillar amid the many insecurities of our time,” he said in the homily .

Local authorities estimated turnout for the Mass, which the pope celebrated at an early 20th-century monument at a major intersection in leafy northern Buenos Aires, at 2.5 million people. Thick crowds lined the pope’s motorcade route to the site.

Pope Leo XIV makes his way through the crowds for Mass at the Monument de los Españoles in Buenos Aires,…