Córdoba is finalizing the organizational details to welcome Pope Leo XIV, who will arrive in the province on November 10 to lead a mass gathering. The provincial Minister of Security, Juan Pablo Quinteros, provided details about the preventive scheme being coordinated with the authorities of the Vatican and the Foreign Ministry.
The official confirmed that the logistics operation has been formally planned for over 2 months to ensure protection during the official activities.
The collaboration among various government jurisdictions remains under absolute confidentiality at the express request of the involved diplomatic and ecclesiastical authorities. Regarding this prior coordination among the organizing parties, the provincial Minister of Security stated: “We have been working on this for over two months, quietly, at the request of the Foreign Ministry and the people from the Vatican.”
The apostolic visit positions the province as one of the two selected venues in the country along with Buenos Aires, due to its operational capacity in terms of security and road infrastructure.
The site of the Argentine Factory of Airplanes (Fadea) is designated as the selected space to hold the public mass that will gather worshippers from all over the country. The calculations made by the operational areas project an initial attendance of 800,000 people, although the final projections anticipate that the number of attendees will exceed 1,000,000 people.
Regarding the magnitude of the gathering at the aeronautical site, Juan Pablo Quinteros emphasized: “We are talking about a mass that will have a minimum of 800,000 people and could reach up to a million or a little more.”
Juan Pablo Quinteros, Minister of Security of Córdoba
Logistics operation, itinerary, and special measures
Regarding the confirmation of the chosen space for the liturgical celebration in the capital, the head of the security portfolio stated: “The mass gathering that is probably, almost certainly, at Fadea is, I would say, confirmed.”
The agenda planned for the representative of the Catholic Church does not include an overnight stay in Córdoba, extending his activities from the early hours of the morning until the end of the day. After the mass concludes, the itinerary includes a land transfer through the central arteries of the city to the Cathedral of Córdoba.
The projected scheme for the urban transfer of the delegation anticipates the use of an open vehicle to facilitate visibility for the worshippers along the route. Regarding the movement of the international delegation through the streets of Córdoba, Juan Pablo Quinteros detailed: “Subsequently, it would go to the Cathedral of Córdoba, probably with a visit, a stop at the Archdiocese.”
Regarding the Pope's preferences for contact with the people, the official added: “We know he likes to move on the ground, to be in contact with the people” and concluded: “The best for us would be that yes, there will be a papamobile.”
The scale of the event prompted Governor Martín Llaryora to consider implementing a provincial administrative holiday to facilitate citizen movement during that special day. The measure aims to adjust urban circulation in light of the logistical transformations that the capital will experience, as the head of the security portfolio illustrated, stating that “it will change the entire appearance not only of the city but of the province.”
Finally, Juan Pablo Quinteros justified the scope of the institutional planning by reflecting that “anyone who wants to see a Pope does not come very often to a country, much less to a province or a city like Córdoba.”
