Argentina commemorated the first anniversary of the death of Pope Francis with masses, caravans and events in different parts of the country, in a day that had the city of Luján, in Buenos Aires, as its epicenter, in which officials from the Government of Javier Milei and other political, union and religious authorities participated.
The most important ceremony was held in the Basilica of Luján, one of the main Catholic pilgrimage centers in the country, and will be presided over by the archbishop of Mendoza and head of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, Marcelo Colombo.
Under the motto “grateful memory” and “missionary commitment”, The call sought to remember the legacy of the Argentine pontiff and his call for a Church close to the most vulnerable sectors.
Senior Cabinet officials and the Buenos Aires governor and one of the main opponents of the Government, Axel Kicillof, attended on behalf of the national government.
The great absentee in Luján was the vice president, Victoria Villarruel, who is in charge of the Executive Branch while Milei remains in Israel, where he paid tribute to the pontiff by praying in the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, despite the fact that he provided very unfriendly treatment to the religious leader while he was trying to win the presidency of Argentina.
Villarruel, close to the Church and who had previously confirmed her attendance in Luján, avoided the tribute from the bishops and instead went to “honor” the memory of Francisco at the Basilica María Auxiliadora, located in the Almagro neighborhood and where Bergoglio was baptized, reported the local newspaper La Nación.
“I prefer to be in a place where I only meet Argentines. It seemed to me that in that ceremony there was the political caste, the worst of the political caste”Villarruel remarked
In the city of Buenos Aires, activities were carried out around the Basilica of Flowers – where Jorge Bergoglio began his pastoral journey – that included the planting of an “Olive Tree for Peace”, the blessing of a mural in a Metro station, a musical show and a mass scheduled for 8:00 p.m. local time (01:00 CET).
Francis died on April 21, 2025 at the age of 88, in his residence at Casa Santa Marta, in Vatican City.
Tributes in Rome
The tributes also took place in the Basilica of Santa María Maggiore in Rome and the Catholic Church in Latin America remembered the legacy of Francis, considered the pope of the disadvantaged during his little more than 12 years of pontificate, in which he tried to change the mechanisms of a Church that was too centralized in the Roman Curia, stop its abuses and promoted a language focused on mercy and the most vulnerable.
The Basilica of Santa María la Mayor paid tribute to Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his death, remembering with a plaque the 126 visits that the pontiff made to the temple where, by express wish, his remains rest.
Francis had frequented this basilica since before his election in 2013 and, as pope, he maintained the tradition of visiting it before and after each apostolic trip to entrust himself to the image of the Marian of the Salus Populi Romani, “protector of the Romans.”
The ceremony, presided over by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, brought together cardinals, bishops, religious and dozens of faithful, including figures close to the pontiff like the one who was his non-public health assistant, Massimiliano Strappeti.
Also attending were the nun Geneviève Jeanningros, a close friend of the Argentine and key in his connection with vulnerable groups, such as fairgrounds and transsexual people, and Sister Raffaella Petrini, whom Francis appointed president of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
