The mass of Pope Leo XIV that took place on Monday, November 9, in front of the Monument to the Spaniards, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo, gathered more than 2.5 million people and became the largest religious celebration since the beginning of his papacy in May 2025.
According to data released by the Vatican and local organizers, the concentration of faithful extended along a corridor of almost three kilometers along Avenida del Libertador. The magnitude of the gathering surpassed the attendance of the masses that the Supreme Pontiff had previously celebrated in Rome and Madrid.
Thus, Argentina was the scene of the most significant religious event of Leo XIV since he assumed the highest authority of the Catholic Church.
Pope Leo XIV.
The massive participation of Argentines turned the day into one of the historical events of his tour of South America, which included Uruguay and Argentina and will continue in Peru.
The ceremony in Palermo was part of an agenda that also included meetings with political authorities, representatives of different faiths, and various sectors of society.
The Pope's Mass Ratings
The impact of the celebration was not limited to the streets of Buenos Aires. The televised broadcast of the mass on Cadena Nacional reached a peak of between 28.5 and 28.6 rating points in accumulated viewership, a record for Argentine open television.
Pope Leo XIV.
The rating significantly exceeded the maximum reached during the first day of the papal visit. The broadcast of Leo XIV's arrival and his participation in the event held at the Palacio Libertad with President Javier Milei had also reached 22.2 rating points.
The audience had shown a progressive increase during the morning of Monday. The coverage of the Pope's visit to the Little Cottolengo Don Orione initially recorded 5.3 points, with Telefe leading at 2.8 and eltrece at 1.6.
At 9:30, during the lead-up to his arrival in Palermo, the combined measurement of the air channels and news signals rose to 12.9 points. At that moment, A la Barbarossa recorded 2.9 points and eltrece reached 2.5.
Before the start of Cadena Nacional, the air channels accumulated 11.4 points, with Telefe and eltrece tied at 4.4. El Nueve was in third place with 1.6, while América TV recorded 0.8.
Finally, the broadcast of the mass reached 28.5 points and set a new record during the visit. Thus, Leo XIV's celebration in Buenos Aires not only became the most attended of his papacy but also generated a television audience record.
