Pope Leo XIV is set to conclude his visit to Argentina on Wednesday with two significant engagements — a meeting with prisoners at a facility associated with the country's military dictatorship and a final Mass at Argentina's national shrine.
Both locations hold special significance in the legacy of his predecessor, Pope Francis. However, the emotional high point of Leo's South American journey is expected later Wednesday when he returns to Peru, where he spent more than two decades serving as a missionary priest and bishop.
A grand national celebration is being planned to welcome the pontiff, widely known among Peruvians as Padre Robert and admired for his work among impoverished communities, particularly during times of crisis.
Prison visit following Francis' footsteps
In Buenos Aires, Leo was scheduled to visit Devoto Prison, a facility frequently visited by Francis when he served as archbishop of the Argentine capital.
Francis regularly celebrated Mass there, visited cellblocks housing inmates with AIDS and washed prisoners' feet as part of the annual Holy Week tradition.
Established in 1927, the prison is now undergoing a permanent closure, with more than 1,000 inmates scheduled to be transferred to a newly built penitentiary complex.
During Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship, the facility also served as a clandestine detention and torture centre. It was declared a Memory Site in 2012 to preserve the history of military repression.
Human rights lawyers have asked courts to prevent the sale or disposal of the prison's land and facilities after the transfer of inmates, arguing that the site must remain protected until investigations into crimes against humanity committed there are completed.
The prison was also the site of a 1978 massacre in which 65 ordinary prisoners were killed. The incident, later known as the Masacre del Pabellón Séptimo (Seventh Pavilion Massacre), was initially covered up by the military regime. However, subsequent court proceedings established that it was an act of state violence.
In December 2025, a federal court sentenced former prison chiefs Juan Carlos Ruiz and Horacio Martín Galíndez to 25 years in prison for torturing 153 detainees and the deaths of 65 prisoners during a fire that broke out amid the massacre and the violent suppression of inmates. Both men were over 90 years old when the sentences were handed down.
Leo has continued Francis' tradition of visiting prisoners during overseas trips, seeking to remind inmates that they are not forgotten and remain beloved children of God.
His most recent such visit, to a prison in Equatorial Guinea, included some of the most disturbing moments of his papacy, when inmates were made to sing and dance for him in heavy rain.
Final Mass at Argentina's national shrine
Following the prison visit, Leo is scheduled to travel to the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, Argentina's national shrine dedicated to the country's patron saint.
Authorities in the municipality of Luján, about 72 kilometres (45 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires, have urged pilgrims to arrive several days early because of the expected crowds and extensive security and logistical arrangements.
The basilica is one of Argentina's most important centres of religious devotion. Every October, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walk from Buenos Aires and neighbouring towns to the shrine to offer prayers and express gratitude to the Virgin of Luján, a figure to whom Francis was deeply devoted.
This year's pilgrimage was held amid persistent rainfall, yet more than 2.8 million people participated, setting a new attendance record for the shrine, according to municipal authorities.