Pope Leo XIV’s scheduled stop at a disability residence in Argentina comes as reports of halted government deliveries draw attention to a funding law and proposed benefit changes under debate in Congress.
The Vatican’s published program lists an Argentina visit from Nov. 8 to 11 and a Nov. 9 stop at Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione de Claypole. The Guardian places the Catholic-run home in Claypole, about 26 kilometers from Buenos Aires.
Agence France-Presse reported that the 45-minute program is expected to include a chapel ceremony, testimonies from two residents and a broadcast for people outside the residence. Screens are planned for thousands of people expected beyond the grounds, and Leo is scheduled to travel the final kilometer in the Popemobile. A separate visit to bedridden residents is planned away from cameras, AFP reported.
Argentina’s Congress is weighing a Milei administration proposal to change state assistance rules during deliberations on the 2027 budget. Patients, disability organizations and opposition politicians have said the proposal would indirectly reduce support, Agence France-Presse reported.
The residence’s coordinator said the government had not delivered medications, special foods or diapers since November 2025, The Guardian reported. A law governing disability funding remains unresolved amid a dispute between President Javier Milei and Congress, the Guardian reported. Milei’s government has presented spending cuts as part of its effort to curb inflation; the Guardian reported no date for resolving the funding-law impasse.
The Guardian also reported disagreements between Leo and Milei over artificial intelligence, workers’ rights and disability policy. It said Milei attacked Pope Francis in 2020, at one point calling him the “representative of the Evil One.” The visit will be the first papal trip to Argentina since Pope John Paul II went there in 1987, according to the Guardian.
EconoTimes previously covered the scheduled residence visit and disability-benefit debate.
Leo is due at the residence Monday, Nov. 9, while Congress continues to consider the proposed changes alongside the 2027 budget.
