Why did Pope Francis never return to Argentina during his papacy?

When the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, left Argentina’s capital to participate in the Vatican conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI’s successor, he did not know it would be the last time he would see his hometown.

The fact that Pope Francis never returned to his country after becoming the pontiff left some Argentines with a heavy heart.

Speaking on Monday, Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva said his parish were “orphans of a father who profoundly loved his country and had to learn to become the father of the whole world”.

He also added that Francis becoming Pope “cost us as Argentines a little bit… Bergoglio left us to become Francis”.

It came as a surprise to many – including Bergoglio himself – that he was elected to the highest office in the Catholic Church in the first place.

At 76 years old at the time – one year older than the typical age of bishops and cardinals when they submit their resignation to the pope – he was not seen as a real candidate to fill the vacancy, according to analysts.

“When he left Buenos Aires for the conclave, he seemed somewhat sad; he was getting ready to retire in a room at the Priests’ Home in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Flores,” Guillermo Marcó, a priest from the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, told Argentine newspaper Clarín.

However, Bergoglio would soon begin a papacy that lasted 12 years.

His death has been particularly keenly felt in his home country, where seven days of national mourning have been declared – as Argentina grieves a man many regarded as simple and humble, despite holding one of the most powerful offices in the world.

Those qualities were praised by Elenir Ramazol, a nun who spoke to BBC Mundo during a vigil at the Buenos Aires cathedral on Monday.

The fact he did not return to his homeland was “a sign of the total commitment he made to the whole Church, not just to his people, to his country”, Ms Ramazol said.

Gustavo Vera exchanged hundreds of letters with Francis, having become friends with him when he was still archbishop. He agreed that the pontiff always showed an enduring interest in what was happening in his home country.

“Sometimes he commented on soccer, sometimes on tango, sometimes on cultural events,” Mr Vera, the leader of La Alameda, an Argentine anti-trafficking and slavery organisation, said. Francis followed Argentine news “in detail”, he added.

During his papacy, Francis visited four of the five countries that border Argentina – but never his home country, despite continuing to take a keen interest in it.

He was loved by many there who now mourn him, but others remember him as a controversial figure.

The initial pride felt by most Argentines after the announcement that a fellow countryman would be the first Latin American pope gave way to disenchantment among some over the years.

A Pew Research Center survey suggested that the proportion of people who held a positive view of the pontiff fell from 91% in 2013 to 64% in 2024.

Of six Latin American countries surveyed, the largest drop in favourable attitudes was recorded in Argentina.

Conservatives in Argentina accused him of undermining historical traditions they held sacred, while reformers hoped for more profound changes.

Critics felt he failed to do enough to oppose the country’s brutal military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s and to criticise the complicity of some figures in the Church.

Every time he was asked about a possible trip, Pope Francis gave vague answers.

“I would like to go. It’s my people, but it hasn’t been planned yet. There are several things to sort out first,” he said the last time he was publicly asked about the subject, in September 2024.

Some fellow Argentines found this hesitation difficult to understand.

The pontiff’s absence has been felt more acutely in recent years, as Argentina has endured a profound economic crisis, with annual inflation reaching nearly 300% and a sharp increase in poverty.

Mr Vera suggests that Francis was planning to visit, but had not yet done so because he wanted to avoid his presence being used for political purposes.

“He always used to say he would go to Argentina when he felt that he was an instrument to bring about national unity, to help overcome the rift, to try to bring Argentines back together,” Mr Vera said.

The “rift” refers to the vast, decades-long gulf in Argentine politics and society between supporters and opponents of the populist political movement Peronism, founded by late President Juan Perón in the 1940s.

There is a widespread belief in the country that Pope Francis was a Peronist – something he denied in a book in 2023, while adding: “If we had a Peronist conception of politics, what would be wrong with that?”

The comment was seized upon by conservative detractors who accused him of being too closely aligned with social justice causes and left-wing politics.

Before taking office, Javier Milei, the current president who has demonised left-wing politics, even called Pope Francis “the representation of evil on Earth” – although he softened his tone after coming to power.

The two had a cordial meeting in the Vatican and President Milei officially invited the pontiff to Argentina. And following the Pope’s death, Milei said he was deeply pained by his loss, and praised the pontiff’s benevolence and wisdom.

Some Argentines accused him of being too close to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a divisive left-leaning populist politician, who was president from 2007 to 2015.

But according to Mr Vera, the Pope met with people “from the whole political and social spectrum of Argentina”.

The late pontiff’s friend also pointed out that, while there was some criticism of Pope Francis in the media and major urban centres, he was loved in other parts of the country.

Although he maintained his connection with Argentina, Mr Vera said, Pope Francis no longer felt he belonged to just one country.

“Argentines believe he was Argentinian, but in reality, he was a citizen of the world,” he added.

It is a view shared by Alejandra Castro, a social worker who was among the mourners who gathered on Monday night at Buenos Aires cathedral.

Argentina was “always in his prayers”, Ms Castro said. “In one way or another, he was always present, and I think that shows that in his heart, Argentina was always present.”

But Mr Vera acknowledged that not everyone felt the same way, and suggested it was up to Argentines to look within themselves for answers: “Rather than blaming Francis, we Argentines should ask ourselves what we were doing that meant we did not deserve the Pope’s visit.”