Spanish
Vatican City.- Leo XIV and the President of Argentina, Javier Milei, held their first meeting this Saturday, in which they discussed the "fight against poverty and the commitment to social cohesion", as well as a possible trip by the pontiff to the South American country announced by the presidential spokesman.
"Thank you very much for receiving me. It is an honor for me to be with you," Milei said upon being welcomed by the Pope, who thanked the president for the visit, with whom he later exchanged smiles and even some jokes, according to images released by the Vatican of the meeting.
The conversation in Spanish between the Pope and Milei revolved around "topics of common interest, including socioeconomic trends, the fight against poverty, and the commitment to social cohesion," reported the Holy See, while the president's spokesman revealed that Leo XIV confirmed he will visit Argentina, without giving further details.
The Vatican, which did not mention that possibility in its statement, explained that "a series of regional and international sociopolitical issues were also discussed, with particular attention to the ongoing conflicts, noting the importance of an urgent commitment to support peace."
After the audience with Leo XIV, Milei also held a meeting with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Undersecretary for Relations with States, Monsignor Mirosław Wachowski, where "mutual appreciation for the solid bilateral relations and the willingness to further strengthen them" was reaffirmed.
This is the first official meeting between the American pope, who also has Peruvian nationality, and the head of the Argentine State, since the election of Leo XIV as successor to the deceased Francis, who was the first Argentine and Latin American pontiff in history.
Following the face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, the meeting was joined by the Secretary General of the Presidency and Milei's sister, Karina; the presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gerardo Werthein, along with the ambassador to the Holy See, Luis Beltramino.
Karina Milei, dressed in strict black, participated in the gift exchange with Leo XIV, who received several books from the ultraliberal economist and Jesús Huerta Soto: "Statism and the Economy" and "Pandemia e dirigismo", as well as "The Fatal Conceit" by Friedrich Hayek.You may be interested in: Milei arrives at the Vatican for his first audience with Pope Leo XIV
"The books that Huerta Soto sends him", Milei said to the Pope in reference to the Spanish professor who is considered a leading thinker of the so-called j
Libertarian “anarcho-capitalism” and its extremist discourse have managed to win over Milei, who has gone so far as to call himself its disciple.He also gave him a handmade vicuña poncho and a carved box with the coat of arms of San Agustín "for the hosts", as Karina Milei commented, while the pontiff gave them the "Message of Peace" of Pope Francis.
When the Pope handed him one of the documents, Milei responded with "I'm sorry, I can't read without glasses," which drew laughter from both of them and the rest of the delegation.
Leo XIV also received this Saturday, coinciding with the visit of the Argentine president, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Monsignor Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, the Vatican reported.
Following the election of Robert Prevost as Francisco's successor on May 8th, Milei congratulated him and stated that he hopes he will defend life, liberty, and private property.
This Friday in Rome, Milei and Meloni adopted a 5-year Action Plan to boost bilateral relations and presided over the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Argentine state-controlled oil company YPF and the Italian ENI.
Milei will travel to Madrid today, then move on to Nice (France) and Tel Aviv, where he will begin a three-day official visit to Israel, a country with which he has strengthened ties since his arrival as President in December 2023.
