San Lorenzo sent a formal request for Pope Leo XIV to visit the Nuevo Gasómetro during his tour of Argentina

The relationship between Leon XIV and Francis

The new Pope's connection to Argentina is also linked to his history with Jorge Bergoglio. Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago on September 14, 1955, met the then-Argentine cardinal in 2004, during the Augustinian Theology Congress held in Buenos Aires.

His relationship continued years later. On March 9, 2013, just four days before Bergoglio was elected Pope, Prevost returned to the country to participate in the ordination mass of Alberto Bochatey as auxiliary bishop of La Plata.

"In the times when I was the general prior of the Augustinians, several times, during visits to my brothers in Argentina, when he was still a cardinal, I had the opportunity to meet him and talk with him, informally and about more institutional matters", Prevost recalled in an interview with Vatican News after Francis' death.

Just over a year after assuming leadership of the Catholic Church, Leon XIV will have a visit in November with a special significance: he will return to a region with which he has maintained a strong bond since his early years as a religious and will arrive in Argentina, a country marked by the figure of his predecessor, Jorge Bergoglio.

The Pope's trip, scheduled between November 8 and 11, will be the first by a Pope to the country in four decades. During his stay, he will visit Buenos Aires, the city of Luján, and the province of Córdoba, in addition to passing through Uruguay beforehand and then continuing to Peru, where he carried out much of his pastoral work.

In this context, San Lorenzo seeks to add a particular stop to the papal agenda. The Boedo institution has presented a formal invitation to the Argentine Episcopal Conference for Leon XIV to visit the Pedro Bidegain stadium during his stay in the country. The proposal has already been submitted to the Vatican and a response is expected in the coming days.

The club's request is intertwined with the history that connects the Ciclón with Pope Francis. Jorge Bergoglio was publicly recognized as a fan of the club and maintained a strong bond with the institution for years. Even before being elected Pope, it was common for him to receive representatives of the blue-and-red institution and recall his identification with the blue-and-red colors.

Therefore, a potential visit from Leon XIV to the Nuevo Gasómetro would have a special value for an entity that has always highlighted its relationship with the first Argentine Pope.