A Mass for a Wounded Nation
Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge García Cuerva presided over the central Mass of the 52nd Youth Pilgrimage to Luján on Sunday, welcoming the faithful who had completed the route to the Basilica in that Buenos Aires city. He described the Virgin of Luján as an embrace capable of gathering a people marked by pain, unemployment, illness, and verbal violence, and he called on pilgrims to return home committed to fraternity. The message asked that the shared experience of the road translate into respect, forgiveness, and dialogue among Argentines.[S1]
The archbishop said no one had walked alone, noting that pilgrims carried with them their families, friends, neighbors in difficulty, the unemployed, the sick, and those who had asked for prayers. He described the walk as a space without ideological rifts or exclusions, where exhaustion, worn-out shoes, and the shared desire to reach the sanctuary made everyone equal. He said that when people discover they are walkers of the same people, they do not give room to individualism or hate speech.[S1][S2]
Pending Embraces in Public Life
García Cuerva linked the religious gesture to Argentina's social and political relations, saying the country has many pending embraces. He listed the need for forgiveness in the face of disparagement and insults, solidarity against indifference, and deep encounters to overcome being lost. He also asked to heal relationships just as pilgrims treat blisters on their feet, identifying wounds caused by intolerance, disparagement, and physical and verbal violence as ills affecting the heart of the people.[S1][S2]
The archbishop warned that the wounds of disparagement, intolerance, and physical and verbal violence are festering and appear to be infecting the heart of the people, and he said it is time to unite. He argued that if the Virgin of Luján embraces everyone, it is impossible to look at another with contempt, because the other is a brother. The message included grandparents, those who think differently, people with disabilities and their families, the unemployed, those sleeping on the street, and adolescents and young people affected by drugs, stressing that no one can make it alone.[S1][S2]
A Call from Pope Leo XIV and St. Francis of Assisi
The reflection recalled words from Pope Leo XIV during a trip to Africa, describing a mother who loves her children even when they differ, all equally and with all her heart, and urging a similar promise to ensure no one lacks love and what is needed to live with dignity and be happy. According to the citation, that concern should extend to the hungry, the sick in need of care, children requiring education, and the elderly who should pass their mature years serenely. The pilgrimage coincided with the 800th anniversary of the passing of St. Francis of Assisi, remembered as the saint of concord and fraternity, and his intercession was invoked to embrace those who think differently, the neediest, and the excluded.[S1]
The closing message said the country is preparing for a visit by Leo XIV and called for the Luján pilgrimage to be a school of fraternity. It urged people to stop disparaging their brother, to stop being indifferent to those who suffer, and to stop giving room to hatred among them, ending with a call to give one another a peace embrace. The ceremony took place at an altar installed in Plaza Belgrano, facing the temple, at the scheduled time for the arrival of a large part of the walkers.[S1]
A Pilgrimage of Millions Despite the Rain
García Cuerva had already led the archdiocesan Mass on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. during the final stretch of the march. The pilgrimage is estimated to have drawn more than two million people despite rain and a drop in temperature. Organizers deployed volunteers, assistance posts, and coordination among national, provincial, and municipal authorities, with around 60 health posts along the route. The pilgrim image of the Virgin of Luján had departed Saturday morning from the Church of San Cayetano in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Liniers under the motto Mother, in your embrace we recognize each other as brothers, traveling roughly 60 kilometers to the basilica.[S1]
Accompanied by the faithful, the image passed through the districts of Tres de Febrero, La Matanza, Morón, Ituzaingó, Merlo, Moreno, and General Rodríguez. The first groups that set out during the early morning advanced with raincoats, umbrellas, and waterproof clothing. Religious celebrations were to continue throughout Sunday inside the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, with the sanctuary announcing Masses scheduled for 9:30, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, and 19:00.[S1]
