Pope Leo draws million-strong crowd at Argentine vigil, urges youth not to chase clicks

BUENOS AIRES: Pope Leo drew a crowd of a million on Tuesday (Nov 11) for the third strong turnout of his 12-day South America tour, as he urged young people at a nighttime vigil in Argentina not to be consumed by the pursuit of money or social media popularity.

Throngs stretched for miles down the Avenida del Libertador, one of Buenos Aires' main boulevards. Many waved cell phones, screens shining in the black night, as Leo was driven slowly through the crowd in an open-air popemobile.

Chants of "This is the pope's youth!" rang out as the vehicle stopped frequently so security officials could bring forward babies for Leo to bless.

In a speech, the pope warned young people against worship of modern-day "idols" such as success or physical appearance, and lamented that some youth "go so far as to lie, betray or humiliate someone on social media".

"Do not bow down before anything that cannot give you life," he said.

Leo, on an ambitious three-country tour through Nov 17, led the vigil after returning from a day trip to Cordoba, Argentina's second city, where he drew 650,000 people to an outdoor Mass earlier on Tuesday.

The pope led a Mass on Monday at the Avenida del Libertador that drew 2.5 million people, in the largest event of his 18-month papacy.

POPE SEEKS TO SHORE UP CATHOLIC STRONGHOLD

Leo is the first pope to visit Catholic-majority Argentina since 1987.

The pope, who is also visiting Uruguay and Peru on the tour, is seeking to reinforce a region that has long been a Catholic stronghold but where the Church has been losing ground to fast-growing evangelical denominations.

Leo has emerged as a forceful voice on the world stage, lamenting what he sees as a failure of global leadership. In Argentina, he has directly challenged President Javier Milei, a libertarian and close ally of US President Donald Trump.

On Sunday, Leo urged Milei, who has pushed an austerity agenda that the Church has criticised for cutting social services, not to target Argentina's poorest. Milei has said spending cuts were necessary to bring inflation under control.

Valentin Gomez, 21, a student attending Mass in Cordoba, praised Leo's focus on those in need.

"In these difficult times we are living through, he is greatly needed," Gomez said. "Someone who is truly concerned about the poor."

Cordoba Cardinal Angel Sixto Rossi, a critic of the austerity policies, welcomed Leo's visit as a chance for the pope to see how Argentina is suffering under Milei's measures.

"He knows how beautiful our people are and the ugly part, the leadership of the government," he said in an interview with Argentine media. "He doesn't arrive blindfolded."

Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said Cordoba was chosen as a stop on the pope's tour because of its location in the center of Argentina, allowing pilgrims to travel easily from neighbouring provinces.

Leo, the first US-born pope, spent decades as a missionary in Peru. The Vatican has described the trip, one of the most demanding foreign tours by a pope in decades, as a "homecoming" for him.