Pope Leo XIV Ends Argentina Tour at a Prison, Then Flies Home to Peru

Pope Leo XIV finished his visit to Argentina on Wednesday with a stop at a Buenos Aires prison that once served as a site of torture, then flew to Peru, the country he considers his adopted homeland, to begin the last leg of his South American tour, according to The Associated Press and The Independent.

The first papal visit to Argentina in nearly four decades ended with a message of hope to a polarized country. The Peru stop is widely seen as the emotional high point of the three-nation journey.

A prison with a dark past

Leo spent his final morning in Argentina at Devoto Prison, according to ABC News, which carried the AP report. He told inmates that redemption and reconciliation are always possible. He said their present circumstances could become a chance to begin their lives again, and he spoke of the false power of easy money and the impunity that comes from corruption.

The prison opened in 1927 and is being shut down permanently. Its more than 1,000 inmates are moving to a new penitentiary complex. Only about 75 prisoners attended the pope's visit, chosen mainly because they took part in the prison's religious programs, the prison chaplain, the Rev. Matías De Martini, told the AP.

Leo did not refer directly to the building's history, but his words about corruption and impunity could be read as pointing to earlier eras as well. During Argentina's military dictatorship, from 1976 to 1983, Devoto operated as a secret detention and torture center. It became an official Memory Site in 2012.

In 1978, 65 inmates held on ordinary criminal charges died in what became known as the Seventh Pavilion Massacre. The military government called it a riot and covered it up. In December 2025, a federal court found that 153 inmates had been tortured, including the 65 who died in a fire during a violent crackdown by guards. It sentenced two former prison chiefs, both over 90, to 25 years each.

Human rights lawyers have asked the courts to block any sale of the land and buildings after the last inmates leave. They argue the site must be preserved until investigations into crimes against humanity there are finished.

The site also carries personal meaning for the church. His predecessor, Pope Francis, often ministered at Devoto as archbishop of Buenos Aires, and Leo has continued Francis' practice of meeting inmates on foreign trips.

A final Mass at Argentina's national shrine

After the prison, Leo was due to celebrate his last Mass in Argentina at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, the country's national shrine. About 1 million people were expected, according to ABC News, which described the crowd as the latest in a series of record-setting turnouts during the trip. Local officials urged pilgrims to arrive days in advance because of the scale of the event and the heavy security.

Why it matters: a homecoming with high expectations

Leo was born in Chicago and spent more than two decades in Peru as a missionary priest and bishop. He holds citizenship in both the United States and Peru, and Peruvians know him as “Padre Robert.” Upon landing at an air base near Lima, he was received by President Keiko Fujimori, The Independent reported.

Preparations across the country have been extensive. A 46-foot (14-meter) statue of the pope was unveiled in the port city of El Callao, and cafes in Lima served cappuccinos decorated with his image. In Chiclayo, where he served as bishop, his face appears on murals, T-shirts and ice cream, the newspaper said.

Observers say the visit lands at a difficult moment. Peru has about 34 million people, and The Independent reported that 25.7% of them lived in monetary poverty in 2025. The paper also cited extortion and homicide rates that have nearly doubled in five years, reaching 10.7 per 100,000 residents from 5.8. Peru has had nine presidents since July 2016, and Fujimori took office in July promising to restore order. Rising food prices and public insecurity add to the strain.

Many Peruvians welcome the pope while feeling frustrated with their government, the report said. Rolando Pérez, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, said Leo's return inspires hope among people who still feel the state has abandoned them. Gustavo Morello, a sociologist at Boston College, called Peru the crown of the trip.

What the pope plans to do in Peru

Deliver a speech from the square outside Lima's cathedral on the challenges and hopes of the Peruvian people, a talk likely to be closely watched.
Celebrate Mass in the northern region he knows well, including a visit to the sanctuary of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo in Zaña, a center of Afro-Peruvian culture.
Travel to Pucallpa in the Peruvian Amazon to honor Indigenous communities affected by illegal gold mining and coca cultivation.
Meet religious groups and traditional representatives in Cusco, and celebrate Mass in its main square, where the Indigenous leader Túpac Amaru II was executed in 1781.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ABC News, The Independent

Cover photo: Gedankenstuecke / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped

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