The 2.5 million people lining the streets of Buenos Aires to get a glimpse of Pope Leo XIV on Monday left little doubt as to his influence in Argentina and beyond.
"It's very important for Argentinians, for our unity and, above all, to reaffirm faith in the Catholic Church in this country. Argentina is a country of faith, it's always been so," one attendee told DW of the open air Mass.
"The mood from the public about his visit is overwhelmingly positive," Justin McLellan, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, told DW from Argentina's capital. "I think that people are big fans of Leo."
The previous day, Leo had made a series of remarks which many observers took to be criticism of Argentine President Javier Milei and his strict austerity measures, sweeping cuts to social services and the elimination of thousands of public sector jobs.
Afterward, there were suggestions from some of the president's supporters online that the pope, who is returning to duty just a month after cancer surgery, had overstepped his role.
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"The economy must be at the service of the people, rather than people being at the service of the economy,"
