Pope Francis Never Returned to Argentina Before He Died—Here’s the Simple Reason Why
By [tudayadah.com] | Credit: Reuters
Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, passed away on Monday at age 88 after being very sick for weeks. According to Reuters, he had been hospitalized with double pneumonia before finally being discharged in March 2025. Sadly, this means the people of Argentina will never get the visit from him that they’ve been waiting over a decade for.
He became pope in 2013 and traveled to over 45 countries during his time leading the Catholic Church—including places no pope had ever visited before, like Iraq, Mongolia, and the United Arab Emirates. But as Reuters reports, he never made it back to his homeland, Argentina.
This surprised many people because Pope Francis, who was born Jorge Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, was once the archbishop there. He was well known for spending time in the poorest neighborhoods and earned the nickname “the slum pope” for always being close to the people.
So why didn’t he go back?
According to Reuters, experts say he stayed away because Argentina is deeply divided politically. One of his biographers, Jimmy Burns, told Reuters that Pope Francis didn’t want to be seen as taking sides between the country’s political groups. He feared that any visit would be used by politicians to push their own agenda, which could make things worse.
Even though there were rumors over the years about a possible trip home—especially after he visited nearby Brazil—the plans never happened. In 2023, he even told reporters he wanted to go because “they are my people,” but said some matters had to be sorted out first.
Former papal spokesman Guillermo Marco told Reuters it was a “wasted opportunity.” He said the pope had a “tango soul,” meaning he carried the spirit of Argentina with him, and probably wished he could return in a simple way just to see the people he loved and hold a Mass for them.
The reaction in Argentina has been emotional. President Javier Milei, who once called Francis the “devil’s representative,” made peace with him after taking office and shared his sadness on social media after the pope’s passing. Many Argentines are mourning not just his death, but the fact that he never returned.
An elderly woman from Buenos Aires told Reuters, “It’s like he passed by the front yard of his house but never came inside.” That quote captures the feeling of many in the country—close, but never home.
As Reuters explains, Pope Francis chose to serve the whole world instead of focusing on just one place, even his own. And that may be his biggest legacy: being a pope for everyone, everywhere.
https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-francis-argentine-pontiff-never-returned-home-2025-04-21