President Javier Milei departed Buenos Aires Thursday, bound on a flight to Rome to attend what he described as the funeral of “the most important Argentine in history.”
Milei, 54, is among the more than 50 heads of state expected to attend services marking the death of Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday.
Francis, 88, died Monday at the Vatican after suffering a stroke. In response, Milei decreed seven days of mourning, during which all official celebrations are suspended and national flags are flown at half-mast.
Milei, who famously clashed in the past with the Argentine pontiff before revising his stance on his compatriot, will represent the nation at the high-profile event, which will be attended by top political and religious leaders, including Donald Trump (United States), Giorgia Meloni (Italy) and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Brazil).
Acknowledging the importance of the event in a radio interview on Thursday, given before his departure, Milei said he couldn’t possibly “fail to attend an event of this magnitude.”
Argentina’s self-proclaimed “anarcho capitalist” president described Francis as “an impressive leader” who would go down as “the most important Argentine in history.”
Milei will be accompanied by his sister at the funeral, Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei.
Also joining the travelling delegation are Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos, Foreign Minister Gerardo Wethein, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello and Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni.
The government did not say if all of the delegation would attend the funeral.
The President and his team are expected to return to the country on Sunday.
Milei, 54, was a fierce critic of Francis prior to taking office in December 2023, once calling him an “imbecile” who “promotes Communism.”
However, he changed his tune after meeting the late pontiff at the Vatican the following year, toning down his subsequent statements.
“Despite differences that today seem minor, to have been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a real honour for me,” Milei wrote in a post on social media shortly after the Catholic leader’s death.
Milei did not attend the Mass that took place on Monday at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, where the pontiff – then known as Jorge Bergoglio – served archbishop, prior to his appointment as pope in 2013, nor evening services at the Basilica of San José de Flores, in the neighbourhood where Francis was born.
Vice-President Victoria Villarruel – who has a strained relationship with Milei – and Buenos Aires City Mayor Jorge Macri were among those who did attend services.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
Comments