The Archbishop of Santiago del Estero and Primate of Argentina, Vicente Bokalic Iglic, met with Pope Leo XIV and stated that the Supreme Pontiff is "considering on his agenda" a visit to Argentina. According to the Argentine News Agency, Bokalic Iglic met with the head of the Catholic Church in the Vatican for half an hour last Wednesday, and it was there that he invited the successor of Francis to visit the lands of Jorge Bergoglio. 'The Holy Father expressed his pleasure at the invitation and stated that this possibility is being considered on his agenda,' the statement from the Archdiocese of Santiago del Estero, published by the portal religiondigital.org, said. The Archbishop gave the Pope a poncho with the colors of the Argentine flag, wrapped in ribbons with the colors of the flag of Santiago del Estero. In this province, he has headed the archdiocese for over 10 years, which in 2024, by decree of Francis, was again recognized as the primate church of Argentina, a title that had been held by the Buenos Aires archdiocese for 88 years. The Santiago del Estero Archbishop asked the Supreme Pontiff that, if he visits the country, he should start in Santiago del Estero, where the first lay Argentine saint, Mama Antula, was born. She is known by that name in the Quechua language as María Antonia Paz y Figueroa, a legendary follower of the work and Ignatian exercises after her expulsion and suppression. The Archbishop and Primate of Argentina was consecrated an auxiliary bishop in 2010 by Bergoglio in a ceremony at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, managed by the Vincentians, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Parque Chacabuco. However, it was at the last consistory of Francis on December 7, 2024, that he was made a cardinal by the same Jesuit. 'He sent me to evangelize the poor,' Bokalic Iglic emphasized about the words Francis told him, who finally passed away on April 21, 2025.
