More than one million young people packed the Monumento de los Españoles in the Palermo neighborhood on Tuesday night as Pope Leo XIV delivered a sharp warning against modern idols, according to Clarin.com.
The third day of the papal visit concluded with two massive gatherings across the country, following a morning mass that brought together 650,000 people in Córdoba, EL PAÍS reported. Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva welcomed the Pontiff at the evening vigil, telling him that the attendees had arrived from all corners of the country to share their struggles and hopes.
The atmosphere along Avenida del Libertador mirrored a concert, with attendees playing card games and waving Vatican flags while waiting for the papamóvil to arrive, infobae reported. Organizers estimated the attendance at over 1.3 million people.
Addressing the crowd after listening to four personal testimonies, Pope Leo XIV cautioned against the pursuit of wealth, appearance, and unbridled pleasure. He warned that the desire for online approval can drive individuals to lie, betray, or humiliate others on social media.
“Today are raised idols that demand our adoration: success at any price, money, the obsession with appearance, popularity or the unbridled search for pleasure.”
said Pope Leo XIV, according to Clarín.
The Pontiff specifically addressed the commercialization of addictive pleasures, pointing to pornography and substance abuse as forces that enslave consumers. Drawing parallels to the biblical story of three young men in Babylon, he urged the youth not to kneel before contemporary idols that cannot give life.
Invoking his predecessor, Pope Francis, the current Pontiff repeated the phrase “todos, todos, todos” to invite young people to draw closer to the Catholic Church regardless of their past. Vatican News noted his reassurance that no one has fallen too low for Christ to lift them up.
The vigil concluded with musical performances by Nahuel Pennisi, Alan Madanes, Valentino Merlo, and Magui Cullen, followed by fireworks as rain began to fall over Palermo.
