Two and a half million people attended the Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV at the Monument to the Spanish in the center of Buenos Aires on the morning of Nov 9. It was the largest gathering ever at a Mass in this city, and surpassed that of John Paul II in 1982.

The crowd—which included many young people and stretched down the city’s main avenue and overflowed onto side streets—waited several hours for the holy father to arrive. As they waited, they joined in singing led by La Sole, a popular Argentine folk and Latin pop singer and songwriter, wearing a large blue and white poncho. They prayed, listened to testimonies and watched a documentary that included clips of historic Catholic events like the visits to Argentina by John Paul II in the 1980s and the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as pope. From time to time they cheered, “Viva il papa!”

When Leo arrived on the main avenue in the popemobile, the crowd went wild; they waved the blue and white flags of Argentina and the yellow and white flags of the Vatican. A smiling Pope Leo appeared relaxed as he waved to those on either side, but he did not stop, as he was already running late. He had just come from an early morning visit to the Don Orione Little Cottolengo in Argentina, which was founded by an Italian priest, St. Luigi Orione, in the mid-1930s at Claypole. Today the organization cares for 400 people with disabilities. 

The Mass was also attended by the country’s cardinals, bishops and hundreds of priests. In his homily, Leo focused on the importance of family.

“Throughout Argentina’s history, culture and society, the family has been a source of the fundamental values of its people,” he said. “In this land, where different cultures and ethnic groups have come together, 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 Argentine government has brought inflation down to single figures and is attracting foreign investment, but prices for food and many other things have risen considerably, and there is a tense political climate. Thirty-two percent of the population are living in poverty. 

Leo, in his homily, acknowledged this reality: “Our families often face difficult circumstances: instability, social hardship, precarious employment, domestic violence, painful separations and addictions that destroy young people’s futures and damage family relationships.”

He sought to encourage them by reminding them that “amid all these hardships and crises, God’s word shines out as a source of hope: God is in our midst; we need not be afraid. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps 46:1). He added that “on the rock that is Christ, our families and society as a whole find the foundation that sustains the house and protects it from the storms that beat against it” (cf. Mt 7:24-27).

He reminded them that “through his resurrection, Christ has already made room for us in his heart. Welcome this grace into your families! With him and in him, every family can become a seed of genuine renewal for this country.”

The crowd applauded when he told them, “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 continued: “Speak naturally to your children about Jesus, and remain united to him. In the intimacy of the home, faith is passed on along with life itself, through the simplest gestures: a blessing before meals, a prayer before going to bed, forgiveness and mutual listening, grandparents teaching their grandchildren to pray, going to Mass on Sundays, and preparing for a retreat or a pilgrimage. Indeed, the family is a privileged place for coming to know and encounter Christ.”

He drew more applause when he mentioned Pope Francis’ name. He did so as he recalled, “Our beloved Pope Francis, who was bishop of this city, expressed with great conviction [in ‘Amoris Laetitia’] that “the family is called to join in daily prayer, to read the word of God and to share in Eucharistic communion, and thus to grow in love and become ever more fully a temple in which the Spirit dwells.”

The Mass was only the second event of a long and busy day for Leo, who has appeared strong and energetic despite his recent operation for cancer.

After lunch, he welcomed five victims of abuse at the nunciature, where he is staying during his visit here. The Vatican Press Office broke the news just before 4:00 p.m. local time, and said that the five people were “victims of abuse by members of the clergy and ecclesial institutions in the country—who were introduced by the local Church.” The Vatican stated that the meeting lasted more than an hour, during which time the “pope spoke individually” with each survivor “listening to their words, their painful experiences, and their suggestions for strengthening paths to healing within the Church.… At the end, as he bid them farewell together, he imparted his blessing upon them and thanked them for the meeting and their witness of faith.”

The Vatican said that “to them—and through them to the other victims whom he was unable to meet—the pope expressed his closeness and his commitment to strengthening pathways of protection, goodness, welcome, and support within the church.” 

After meeting with the victims, Pope Leo drove to the Catholic University of Argentina to greet entrepreneurs, leaders of the labor unions, representatives of grassroots movements, professors, and students and there was a strong media presence. 

When he was elected pope, Robert Francis Prevost took the name Leo, in memory of Leo XIII, who is remembered for his encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” on labor and capital. Today, Leo XIV showed he is truly worthy of that name. He recalled too the popular movements’ “demand for social inclusion” and their advocacy of the three “Ts”: “tierra, techo y trabajo”—land, housing and work—which, he said, “Pope Francis often identified as requirements of social justice.”

He spoke powerfully on each of these topics, drawing heavily on Pope Francis’s encyclical “Fratelli Tutti.” The crowd gave him a rousing standing ovation when he finished. The reaction was reminiscent of the crowd’s enthusiastic reaction to Pope Francis’ speech to the popular movements in Santa Cruz during his visit to Bolivia.

In Leo’s case it was perhaps the response here in Argentina was even more striking, because – as I reported yesterday – he was also given tremendous applause when he met the civic and religious authorities here and representatives of civil society. It is crystal clear that he is touching on issues of great importance to people here in the socio-economic and political field.

From the Catholic University, Leo drove to the Palacio San Martino, the seat of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, to address a gathering of leaders of the different religious traditions in this land. From there he drove to the nearby Cathedral of Buenos Aires to pray vespers with the bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful. There, he honored Pope Francis by praying with young children in a small alcove in front of a plaque noting that Francis had been archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2013 before being elected supreme pontiff. Leo then led the singing of vespers, delivered a homily, and then joined the bishops conference for dinner at the residence of the archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Tomorrow he continues this cracking pace by taking a plane to Cordoba, where he will celebrate a public Mass and give a talk to the clergy and pastoral workers at the cathedral, before returning to Buenos Aires.

Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.