Argentina’s government has not invited any living former president to the reception for Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, Nov. 8, officials said, while governors, lawmakers and Vice President Victoria Villarruel are invited.
Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said on Monday that all governors, deputies and senators are invited to the reception at the Palacio Libertad, the downtown Buenos Aires building that housed the Kirchner Cultural Centre, and that former presidents “are not yet included.” The presidency’s ceremonial office sent the invitations to legislators and their spouses. Guests are to arrive from 4:30 p.m. for the 6:30 p.m. event and follow a dark dress code set by the Vatican.
None of the former presidents received an invitation: Mauricio Macri, Alberto Fernández, Eduardo Duhalde and Adolfo Rodríguez Saá, among others. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is under house arrest after a corruption conviction. The bishops’ conference, led by Marcelo Colombo, had proposed inviting all former presidents for a unity photo, according to people close to the preparations, and the idea was dropped. A Vatican official said that the guest list for official events is for local authorities to decide.
Macri is on the Buenos Aires city government’s guest list for the Pope’s Mass at the Monumento de los Españoles in Palermo on Monday at 11:30 a.m., invited by the city’s leader, his cousin Jorge Macri, city officials said. People close to Macri said he had not asked for an invitation. Hilda González de Duhalde, the wife of Duhalde, told La Nación there was no problem or conflict. People close to Kirchner said things should not be mixed up and that what matters is that the Pope comes and meets people.
It is the first papal visit to Argentina since John Paul II’s in 1987, a four-day trip that ends on Nov. 11.