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CORDOBA, Argentina (AP) -- Pope Leo XIV urged Argentines on Tuesday to follow the holy example of the country's best-known saints as he drew an estimated 650,000 people to the central city of Cordoba for Mass, a day after an estimated 2.5 million turned out in the capital.
Faithful from all over Argentina drove hours to be on hand for the service, from the farthest north of the country to Patagonia in the south and points in between. After nearly 40 years without a papal visit, Cordoba was chosen to host Leo because of its central location.
Leo told them that Cordoba was a "land of saints," home to some of Argentina's best-known missionaries. They include St. Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, known as the " Gaucho priest," and "Mama Antula," who in 2024 became Argentina's first female saint. They were both canonized by the Argentine Pope Francis.
Leo urged Argentines today to follow their example.
"We are all called to holiness," he said. "These saints and blesseds have already fulfilled their mission on Earth. Today, it is our turn to follow the radiant example of holiness they have left with us."
After Mass, Leo surprised the crowds with a brief appearance on the balcony of the archbishop's residence in downtown Cordoba, the same balcony from which St. John Paul II greeted Cordoba in 1987.