More than two million attend Pope Leo’s final Mass in Argentina

More than two million people attended Pope Leo XIV’s final Mass in Argentina, according to local authorities, as the pontiff celebrated at the basilica of Luján, the country’s most revered religious site.

The service took place outside Buenos Aires. Crowds filled the surrounding streets, with some people climbing fences, trees and lampposts to see the pope, according to the report carried by ANP and AFP.

The reported turnout followed a Mass in Buenos Aires on Monday, where authorities said 2.5 million people had gathered. The Vatican’s estimate of that crowd was also reported in an earlier account of Leo’s visit to Buenos Aires.

Leo is travelling on to Peru, where he lived for years and served as a bishop. He received Peruvian nationality in 2015. His predecessor, Pope Francis, was Argentine but did not return to his birth country during his papacy.