Why did Pope Francis never return to Argentina during his papacy?

When the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, left the capital of Argentina to participate in the Vatican Conclave to choose Pope Benedict XVI, he did not know that he would be the last time he saw his hometown.

The fact that Pope Francis has never returned to his country after becoming Pontiff, left some Argentines with a heavy heart.

Speaking on Monday, Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Ignacio Garcia Querva said his parish was “orphans of a father who deeply loved his country and should learn to become the father of the whole world.”

He also added that Francis became a pope “cost us like Argentines … Bergoglio let us become Francis.”

This came as a surprise to many – including Bergolia himself – that he was elected to the highest position in the Catholic Church in the first place.

At the age of 76 at that time – one year older than the typical age of bishops and cardinals when they resigned to the Pope – he was not regarded as a true candidate for filling the vacancy, according to analysts.

“When he left Buenos Aires for the conclave, he seemed somehow sad; he was preparing to retire in a room at the House of priests in the neighborhood of Buenos Aires on Flores,” said Guillermo Marco, a priest from the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, in front of the Argentine newspaper Clarin.

However, Bergoglio will soon begin a papacy that lasted 12 years.

His death is especially felt in his homeland, where they have been declared seven days on national mourning – as Argentina grieves a man who considers many to be simple and humble, although he occupies one of the most powerful offices in the world.

These qualities were praised by Elena Ramazole, a nun who spoke with the BBC Mundo during a vigil at the Buenos Aires Cathedral on Monday.

The fact that he did not return to his homeland was “a sign of the full commitment that he made throughout the church, not just to his people, to his country,” said Gia Ramazole.

Gustavo Vera exchanged hundreds of letters with Francis, becoming friends with him when he was still an archbishop. He agreed that pontiff was always a lasting interest in what was happening in his home country.

“Sometimes he commented on football, sometimes for tango, sometimes at cultural events,” said Mr. Vera, the leader of the organization for anti-trafficking and slavery in La Alamed. Francis followed the Argentine news “in detail,” he added.

During his papacy, Francis visited four of the five countries bordering Argentina – but is never a maternity country, although he continues to show great interest in her.

He was loved by many there who now mourned him, but others remember him as a controversial figure.

The initial pride was felt by most Argentines after the announcement that a compatriot would be the first Latin American pope gave way to be dissatisfied with some over the years.

A PEW Research Center study suggests that the share of people who hold a positive opinion about Pontif dropped from 91% in 2013 to 64% in 2024.

Of the six Latin American countries surveyed, the largest decline in favorable attitudes was recorded in Argentina.

The Argentina conservatives accused him of undermine the historical traditions they kept sacred while the reformers hoped for a deeper change.

Critics believe he failed to do enough to oppose the country's brutal military dictatorship in the 70s and 1980s and to criticize the complicity of some figures in the church.

Every time he was asked for a possible trip, Pope Francis gives unclear answers.

“I would like to go. This is my people, but it is not planned yet.

Some fellow Argentines found this hesitation difficult to understand.

The absence of Pontif has been felt in recent years, as Argentina has withstood a deep economic crisis, with annual inflation reached near 300% and a sharp increase in poverty.

Francis has planned to visit, but he has not yet done so because he wanted to avoid his presence used for political purposes.

“He always said he would go to Argentina when he felt it was a tool that would lead to national unity, help to overcome the gap, try to bring the Argentines again,” said G -N Vera.

“Rift” refers to the huge, long decade in Argentine politics and the society between supporters and opponents of the populist political movement of Peronism, founded by the late President Juan Peren in the 1940s.

There is a widespread belief that Pope Francis was a peronist – something he denied in a book in 2023, while adding, “If we had a peronist concept of politics, what would it be?”

The comment was seized from conservative offenders who accused him of being too closely brought into line with the causes of social justice and leftist policy.

Before he took office, Javier Miley, the current president, who demonized the leftist policy, even called Pope Francis “the presentation of evil on earth” – although he softened his tone after he came to power.

The two had a heartfelt meeting in the Vatican, and President Miley officially invited Pontiph to Argentina. And after the death of the Pope, Miley said that he was deeply ill with her loss and praised the well -wisdom and wisdom of Pontif.

Some Argentines have accused him of being too close to Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, a dividing left populist politician who has been president from 2007 to 2015.

According to G -n Vera, the Pope met with people “from all over the political and social spectrum of Argentina.”

The friend of the late Pontiff also said that although there was some criticism of Pope Francis in the media and major city centers, he was loved in other parts of the country.

Although he maintained his relationship with Argentina, said G -n Vera, Pope Francis no longer felt that he was only one country.

“The Argentines believe he was Argentine, but in fact he was a citizen of the world,” he added.

This is a view shared by Alejandra Castro, a social worker who was among the mourners who gathered on Monday night at the Buenos Aires Cathedral.

Argentina was “always in her prayers,” said Da Castro. “In one way or another, he always attended and I think it shows that Argentina has always been present in his heart.”

But the Vera acknowledged that not everyone feels the same way and suggested that it depends on the Argentines to look at themselves for answers: “Instead of blaming Francis, we Argentines should ask ourselves what we do, which means that we do not deserve the visit to the Pope.”