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Pope Leo XIV traveled<\/a> to C\u00f3rdoba in central Argentina, where he recalled the example of Argentina\u2019s saints \u2014 who spread the Gospel and tirelessly served peoples in a rugged frontier \u2014 while emphasizing the enduring importance of missions.<\/p>\n Celebrating Mass outside an aircraft manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Argentina\u2019s second-largest city on Nov. 10, Pope Leo spoke of St. Jos\u00e9 Gabriel del Rosario Brochero<\/a> and St. Mar\u00eda Antonia de Paz Figueroa, \u201cwho were called by the Lord and sent on mission, without even realizing how extraordinary their evangelizing work would be. Indeed, we too, like all Christians, are merely humble servants, and all we must do is fulfil our duty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are all called to holiness. This is our task here on earth: to attain perfect union with God,\u201d the pope continued. \u201cThis calling is always missionary: we must make known to others the beauty that we have come to know in Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n Overflowing crowds welcomed Pope Leo to Cord\u00f3ba, an industrial city of 1.6 million residents some 430 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. The city is home to the Manzana Jesu\u00edtica \u2014 the Jesuit Block \u2014 which was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1599, where Pope Francis spent two years in the early 1990s living in an austere room as a Jesuit priest during a time of prayer and reflection.<\/p>\n Pope Leo celebrated Mass in front of a large cross commissioned by Father Brochero, while he was lying on his sickbed after contracting leprosy while working to tend to the ill and forgotten. He was known as the \u201cgaucho priest\u201d who traveled the vast Andean foothills on mule to evangelize and serve Catholic populations in the late 1800s and early 1900s.<\/p>\n \u201cThis priest was truly in love with the Lord and knew how to draw strength for his life from prayer,\u201d Pope Leo said in his homily. \u201cOnly those who have experienced friendship with Jesus Christ are capable of undertaking the task of evangelization; only those who know they are loved by the Lord are capable of extending his kingdom of charity and justice, devoting all their energies to proclaiming the Gospel, armed with nothing but the crucifix and the holy rosary.\u201d<\/p>\n The pope also remembered St. Mar\u00eda Antonia de Paz Figueroa, known affectionately as Mama Antula.<\/p>\n She \u201cknew how to combine contemplation with service to neighbor, recognizing that the greatest act of fraternal charity is to bring others closer to God,\u201d Pope Leo said. \u201cAs my revered predecessor Pope Francis reminded us, the poor need God and people who express the power of Christian love in their lives. Following this same inspiration, Mama Antula tirelessly traveled the length and breadth of this country to show countless people the path to heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n Pope Leo also cited other examples important for Argentine Catholics, telling the estimated 650,000 people attending Mass in C\u00f3rdoba, \u201cThese 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.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cWe celebrate this Holy Mass for the sanctification of the people of Argentina, for the sanctification of all of you. Open your hearts, and with God\u2019s grace, go forth and be holy: at school and in the town square, in family life and with friends, in the countryside and in the city, on the farm and in the office. Go, evangelize!\u201d<\/p>\n Mass in C\u00f3rdoba was delayed by 15 minutes after Pope Leo stopped to attend to someone in the section for people with disabilities. After Mass, the pope was expected to meet with 20 individuals chosen by the Archdiocese of C\u00f3rdoba\u2019s vicariate for the poor, according to local media. They included a migrant community leader, a survivor of human trafficking and a person still searching for the remains of their parents who were disappeared nearly 50 years ago during the country\u2019s military dictatorship.<\/p>\n Pope Leo is scheduled to address priests, religious and seminarians in C\u00f3rdoba, then return to Buenos Aires for a youth vigil. On Nov. 11, his last day in Argentina, the pope will visit a prison in Buenos Aires, then celebrate Mass in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Luj\u00e1n, home to the national patroness \u2014 then fly onward to Peru.<\/p>\n Gigantic crowds turned out for Pope Leo\u2019s visit to Argentina, the second stop on a three-country apostolic trip to South America that began Nov. 6 in Uruguay.<\/p>\n Pope Leo celebrated Mass with 2.5 million people in the heart of Buenos Aires on Nov. 9, drawing the largest crowd of his pontificate so far, which some priests say reflects signs of renewed interest in Catholicism amid hard economic times.<\/p>\n \u201cLeo comes to renew our missionary calling, our baptismal vocation,\u201d Father Kevin C\u00f3rdoba, a priest from southern Chabut province, who attended the Mass in C\u00f3rdoba, told OSV News.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pope\u2019s presence reminds us that Christ sends us to immerse the miseries of this world in a fraternal and paternal embrace, bringing with him teachings that anchor us in the mystery of unity. I hope and believe that the Spirit is being poured out upon Argentina today, like a new Pentecost.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 \u2013 \u2013<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/a><\/a>
David Agren writes for OSV News from Buenos Aires.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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