Top photo caption: Pope Francis smiles and waves to visitors after reciting the Angelus prayer, wrapping up the first World Children’s Day in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican May 26, 2024. CNS photo/Lola Gomez
By David Agren, OSV News
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina OSV News – María Rico ambled along a busy Buenos Aires boulevard as part of a caravan through Barrio Flores – the childhood neighbourhood of the late Pope Francis – to commemorate the first anniversary of the Argentine pontiff’s death.
Rico, 66, recalled first meeting the future Pope while he was a Jesuit priest. She fondly remembered him returning later as the then-Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires routinely visited her modest barrio, or district, where he would walk the streets, celebrate parish feast days and share bowls of lentils with parishioners during the cold winter months.
She has clung to the memories, but also the Pope’s teachings. “The important thing that he instilled in us was unity,” Rico said, “that we do not leave anyone on the outside.”
The caravan began with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gustavo Carrara of La Plata, who said at the Basilica of San Jose de Flores on April 11, “Just as you are is how you can shape life and begin to walk its paths. It’s about being there, side by side, about seeing reality so that the periphery is truly visible, seeing it through the eyes of the humble, the poor, the marginalized.”
He continued, “Enough of looking at ourselves from the center, enough of looking from a position of power, enough of looking at ourselves from a dominant position. The true view of reality comes from humility and from the periphery, from need and from encounter. Today we reaffirm this act of love.”
Pope Francis died April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. His death drew outpourings of emotion around the world and in his native Argentina, too. Catholics in his homeland are marking the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death with events remembering his ministry and impact in the country, where he played a prominent role in Argentina’s public life and his image was drawn into its messy politics.
Familia Grande Hogar de Cristo, a ministry for supporting addiction recovery founded by the curas villeros – the priests working in the shanties of Buenos Aires – organized an April 11 caravan through Barrio Flores to give thanks for his life and renew their commitment to serve the unprotected.
Other events include a homage to Pope Francis at the Plaza de Mayo – outside the Metropolitan Cathedral – with a performance by Portuguese DJ and priest, Father Guilherme Peixoto, and a Mass on the anniversary of his death at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján.
His impact on Argentina and his legacy in the South American country remain complicated, however – with the country’s divisive politics coloring opinions, according to observers. Few murals around Buenos Aires portray the late Pope – unlike soccer stars Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to World Cup championships. Politics also turned sharply toward the libertarian agenda of President Javier Milei, who branded the Pope a “communist,” before praising him as a kind and wise leader upon the pontiff’s death.
Some still express bewilderment at why he didn’t visit Argentina after being elected Pope in 2013 – though not Rico, who participated in the anniversary caravan. “He had other things to do,” said Rico, who coordinates a parish program for seniors. “But he was also in touch with us, always in touch with the people.”
The Pope was pulled into what Argentines call “the crack,” the division that divides politics between Peronist and anti-Peronist camps.
“Unfortunately, his commitment to the poor and to social issues in general was viewed here in a politicized way,” Sergio Berensztein, an Argentine political analyst, told OSV News.
Some Catholics say the population failed to appreciate how unprecedented it was to have the first Pope from the Americas be from Argentina.
“A year after the Pope’s death, I still don’t think we Argentinians have fully grasped what Francis meant in history,” said Juan Ignacio Luchetti, 28, a seminarian in Buenos Aires. “We didn’t know, we didn’t recognize among ourselves someone whom God chose to lead his Church.”
Priests say Pope Francis’ teachings continue to guide the Church in Argentina. They point to his magisterium being practiced in Buenos Aires: a missionary Church in a permanent state of mission and “a Church for the poor.”
“Pope Francis is like a beacon for us, a guiding light for the Church,” Father Ignacio Bagattini, pastor of the Christ the Worker parish, told OSV News. “He is very important to everyone because he is the light that illuminates our path, showing us what the Church should be. It must be a place for everyone, a place where no one is forgotten.”
Father Bagattini was walking with the caravan, which passed by the Pope’s childhood home, stopped to pray outside a hospital in the barrio and ended at the San Lorenzo soccer stadium – home to the Pope’s favorite team.
Priests say Pope Francis remains appreciated in poor barrios, where, as archbishop of Buenos Aires, he paid special pastoral attention.
“He never forgot the poor,” said Manuel Castillo, 46, one of the people helped by the Familia Grande Hogar de Cristo. “That’s why he’s so loved.”
David Agren writes for OSV News from Buenos Aires.
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