Pope Leo XIV began his first full day in Argentina with a visit to a disability care home in Buenos Aires, the Don Orione “Little Cottolengo” in Claypole, known as “Pequeño Cottolengo Argentino Don Orione,” south of Buenos Aires.

Pope Leo listened to the testimonies of people with disabilities, including a moving story of Marta Torres, wearing grey braids on her head. Born with cerebral palsy, she can’t walk nor see.

“My mother abandoned me the day before my birthday; she left home and never returned. … My father and my siblings took care of me from a very young age,” she said.

Over the years, facing “many hardships, including hospitalizations, surgeries, and numerous treatments,” she searched for a home, and she found one in “Little Cottolengo.”

“For me, the Cottolengo has been a beacon of light that illuminated my life. It was not just a place to live, but a place where I was welcomed, sheltered, and loved,” Torres said.

Over time, she wrote a book, as she wanted her story “to be known and heard because I wish to do good.” Before handing her book to Pope Leo, she said, “I offer this as an act of thanksgiving to God for having bestowed so many things upon me.”

The other woman who also gave her testimony—Norma Donato—exchanged the traditional papal skullcap, or zucchetto, with Pope Leo, to cheerful applause.

While visiting the charitable center, the pope also met privately with people suffering from addictions.

Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who met with Pope Leo upon his arrival in Buenos Aires, has defended extensive audits of the disability pension system as necessary after serious irregularities were uncovered. However, the government’s austerity measures, including cuts to disability programs and as well as other social services and government programs—along with measures that have eroded retirees’ purchasing power amid inflation—affected people with disabilities and their families.

“They’ve taken away so many things from us, many benefits, many therapies,” Clarisa Islas, whose two children attend “Little Cottolengo,” told OSV News before the papal trip.

“We are juggling to ensure our children don’t lose their rights or the visibility they have achieved,” the mother, whose two children have cerebral palsy and autism, said.

In his speech at “Little Cottolengo,” Pope Leo said, “A nation’s progress is also measured by how it welcomes all people with disabilities and particular needs.”

“In this special moment, I would like to share with you all my hope for this country: that Argentina may be capable of performing great works of charity, such as we see here, where the love of Christ triumphs over individualism and exclusion.”