Pope Leo XIV spends Tuesday mostly in the air: out to central Argentina at dawn, back to the capital in time for a night with young people. In between come a Mass on an air force parade ground and a meeting with priests in a colonial cathedral.
Leo is the first US-born pope, a native of Chicago, and Tuesday is the third day of his first visit to Argentina as pope. For US readers, the day shows how a pope from Illinois reaches the interior of the country that gave the Church Pope Francis.
- What: a day trip to Córdoba for Mass and a clergy meeting, then a youth vigil in Buenos Aires.
- When: Mass at 10:00 local time (8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, ET); vigil at 20:15 (6:15 p.m. ET).
- Why it matters: it is the pope’s only stop in Argentina’s interior outside the Buenos Aires region.
- Next: Mass in Luján on Wednesday 11 November, then Lima, Peru.
In plain English: the Holy See is the Vatican’s government, and its press office publishes the pope’s official schedule. A vigil is an evening gathering of prayer, and the Military Aviation School is an air force training base in Córdoba.
The Day, Hour by Hour
The Holy See press office published the programme on 21 September 2026. All times below are Argentine time, which is two hours ahead of ET.
At 07:30 (5:30 a.m. ET) the pope’s plane leaves Buenos Aires for Córdoba. It is due at Córdoba’s Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio Taravella International Airport at 09:00 (7:00 a.m. ET).
At 10:00 (8:00 a.m. ET) he celebrates Mass on the esplanade of the Military Aviation School, and the programme lists a homily. At 15:15 (1:15 p.m. ET) he meets bishops, priests, deacons, members of religious orders, seminarians and pastoral workers at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and gives an address.
At 16:55 (2:55 p.m. ET) he flies back to Buenos Aires, landing at the Jorge Newbery city airport at 18:10 (4:10 p.m. ET). At 20:15 (6:15 p.m. ET) he leads a vigil with young people at the Monumento de los Españoles, a landmark on Avenida del Libertador in the Palermo district.
Why Córdoba Gets the Pope
Córdoba is the capital of a province in the geographic centre of Argentina, about an hour and a half by air from Buenos Aires. The national tourism board says it was chosen partly so that worshippers from the north of the country can reach the Mass more easily.
It is also a place with deep Church roots. Its cathedral faces Plaza San Martín, and the nearby Jesuit Block, a group of colonial Jesuit buildings, is a World Heritage Site of UNESCO, the UN’s cultural agency.
No pope had visited Argentina since St John Paul II in 1987, according to the Vatican’s own news service. Argentina is also the home country of Pope Francis, which gives this trip extra weight for local Catholics.
The programme shows how the trip is built. Sunday was for presidents and diplomats, Monday for workers and other faiths, and Tuesday is for the Church itself, from an open-air Mass to a meeting with its own clergy, then for the young.
What Is Not Known
Crowd numbers for the Córdoba Mass have not been announced. The texts of the homily and the addresses will only be known once the pope speaks.
We do not know whether the timings will shift, and the Holy See can change them at short notice. Check back for the outcome of each event after it has taken place.
What It Means for You
Travellers in Córdoba may find road closures and heavy traffic around the airport, the Military Aviation School and the cathedral area. Tuesday is also a local holiday in Córdoba and Buenos Aires city, so shops and offices may be shut.
For readers in the United States, the Mass is at 8:00 a.m. ET and the Buenos Aires vigil at 6:15 p.m. ET. After Argentina, the pope flies to Lima, as set out in our Peru visit guide.
For earlier coverage, read our reports on Monday in Buenos Aires and his arrival in Argentina. For Peru, see the Lima Mass ticket guide and the Lima youth vigil guide.
More: Argentina news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is Pope Leo’s Mass in Córdoba?
The Mass is at 10:00 local time on the esplanade of the Military Aviation School. That is 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) in the United States.
Why is Pope Leo going to Córdoba?
Córdoba sits in the centre of Argentina, and Argentina’s national tourism board says it was chosen partly to make travel easier for worshippers from the north of the country. It is the only stop on his Argentine programme outside the Buenos Aires area.
When does the youth vigil start?
The vigil starts at 20:15 local time at the Monumento de los Españoles in Buenos Aires. That is 6:15 p.m. ET.
Where does the pope go after Argentina?
On Wednesday 11 November he celebrates Mass in Luján, a pilgrimage town west of Buenos Aires, and leaves for Lima, Peru, at 14:00 local time. The Peru leg runs until 17 November.
Sources: Holy See press office programme of 21 September 2026 (press.vatican.va), Vatican News, the Argentine national tourism board (argentina.travel). Related Rio Times reports: Monday schedule, arrival.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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