Archbishop of Luján: 'An entire people stands with open arms to welcome the Pope'

By Benedetta Capelli

At just 38 centimetres (about 15 inches) tall, the statue of Nuestra Señora de Luján, Patroness of Argentina, is housed in the Basilica dedicated to her 70 kilometres (about 44 miles) from Buenos Aires. The statue is a striking expression of what Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly called “the way of littleness”. This is the path God chose to come down among humanity. The little ones were Jesus’ favourites, and the Kingdom “grows like the smallest of all the seeds sown in the ground”.

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“This logic of littleness,” the Pope said at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul on 28 November 2025, “is the true strength of the Church.”

How can one not think of littleness when looking at the small statue of the Virgin Mary, venerated for almost 400 years and still drawing millions of faithful to her today? It is here, in the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Luján completed in 1937 and designed by the French architect Uldéric Courtois, that Pope Leo will stop on 11 November during his sixth international Apostolic Journey.

“Our Lady of Luján,” Archbishop Jorge Eduardo Scheinig of Mercedes-Luján explained to Vatican News, “has never spoken, never uttered a word or conveyed any message. Our Lady of Luján is characterised precisely by this silence, perhaps similar to that of the Mother of the Lord in the Gospel, who spoke very little.”

Her presence is therefore “persevering”, “constant” and “maternal”. She is there to listen to pleas, welcome prayers, wipe away tears and restore strength through her gaze. Pope Francis also spoke of this: the gaze of the Morenita (the Little Dark-Skinned Lady) is one that “renews” and “gives strength”.

In Father Alexandre Awi Mello’s book She Is My Mother: Encounters with Mary, there is an account of how, when Pope Francis was hearing confessions on the right-hand side of the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, those who had already passed before the statue of Mary experienced a more profound confession — she had touched their hearts. The Pope would ask them, “Did you see her?” The answer was always the same.

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Pope Francis spoke of Our Lady of Luján and a miracle involving the healing of a little girl in a homily during Mass at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican on 20 May 2013.

He recalled the determination of the girl's father, who, upon hearing that his daughter was about to die, responded by going to the Marian shrine in the middle of the night. Finding it closed, he clung to its iron gates and prayed incessantly, alternating his pleas with tears.

When he returned to the hospital, he found his wife in tears and the doctors astonished. The little girl had recovered.

“Prayer,” Pope Francis explained, “works miracles, but we must believe!”

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Mary’s gaze transforms people's hearts.

“The image is very small,” Archbishop Scheinig recounted, “but her presence is immensely powerful. Her gaze, too, is very special. When we allow the Virgin Mary to look upon us, something truly happens: people who come to Luján never leave quite the same as when they arrived. They arrive one way and leave transformed.”

Pope Leo XIV's closeness

As the Prior General of the Augustinian Order, Robert Prevost also visited the Shrine of Luján. Archbishop Scheinig confirmed this, recalling that he met the future Pope there.

“We are preparing to welcome the Pope with open arms and open hearts,” added the archbishop. “We will offer him the embrace of the entire Argentine people.”

They are also preparing a surprise, although, quite rightly, no one wants to spoil it.

“Argentina had a special relationship with Pope Francis. Having a Pope of the same nationality, a son of this land, was something immensely powerful. This is why the Argentine people have a special relationship with the papacy and with the Pope. The particularly close relationship we had with Pope Francis,” Archbishop Scheinig continued, “makes us very open towards Pope Leo. For us, a Pope is not someone distant or unfamiliar, but someone close to us. We believe that Leo’s presence will renew this closeness, this friendship and this communion. That is why we are truly happy to welcome him here in Latin America, in Argentina and, of course, in Luján.”

Awaiting Pope Leo

Meanwhile, preparations for the Pope’s arrival are in full swing in Plaza Belgrano, in front of the Basilica. The square is often the place used to welcome large crowds. The most recent event was a youth pilgrimage, held on 3 and 4 October, which brought together approximately 2.5 million young people.

“Luján is a place that is deeply loved by the Argentine people,” emphasised the Archbishop of Mercedes-Luján, “and the Virgin Mary loves her people. That is why we are preparing to welcome the Pope, as well as all the people who will be there. We believe the turnout will be very large.”

Hospitality is one of the defining characteristics of this place. Indeed, efforts are being made to promote a pastoral approach centred on welcoming others.

“We believe,” explained Archbishop Scheinig, “that this is the mission entrusted to us by Our Lady of Luján: to ensure that everyone who comes here feels welcome, because she always welcomes us.”

Pilgrims inside the Shrine of Our Lady of Luján (AFP or licensors)   (AFP or licensors) {"@context": "http://schema.org","@type": "ImageObject","contentUrl": "https://www.vaticannews.va/content/dam/vaticannews/agenzie/images/afp/2026/10/04/14/1791116718053.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.thumbnail.cropped.750.422.jpeg","creditText": "Vatican News","height": "750","width": "422"} A people of faith

This deep popular devotion might seem at odds with statistics from recent years, which paint a rather bleak picture, showing a decline in the Catholic population from 76.5% in 2008 to 62.9% in 2019.

“Statistical studies show that, although affiliation with the Church as an institution is declining — even though ties with the Church remain strong in Latin America — faith in Jesus and the Virgin Mary is not diminishing,” he stressed.

“We pay close attention to this aspect: our people are a people of faith, who continue to search,” explained the Archbishop of Mercedes-Luján. “Perhaps this reality is not fully apparent at the moment, but in Argentina the bond with the Church remains strong, even if it is weakening. Faith, on the other hand, is not diminishing.”

Archbishop Scheinig also shares a beautiful and profound bond with Luján, where he was ordained a bishop. “Ever since I was very little, my mother and grandmother used to bring me here. I have a photograph of myself when I must have been four or five years old, together with my grandmother and my mother,” he recalled.

“For me, Luján is a familiar place, somewhere I feel deeply attached to and love; it is a place that brings me great comfort and strength. I feel profoundly connected to the Virgin Mary and to the people who love her,” the archbishop said.

Queen of Peace

Before Pope Leo XIV, Saint John Paul II visited Luján on 11 June 1982, at the height of the crisis surrounding the conflict over the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas, which were under British administration. The war, fought between April and June 1982, claimed more than 900 lives.

The visit came after the Pope’s journey to England. In Buenos Aires, Pope John Paul II described himself as a “pilgrim in difficult times”.

He remembered those killed and wounded in the conflict, asking the “Queen of Peace” to show the way towards resolving disputes “in peace, justice and respect for the dignity proper to each nation”.

Five years later, on 12 April 1987, Pope John Paul II returned to the South American country for the second World Youth Day, entrusting Argentina to the Virgin of Luján so that “the Argentine homeland” might be “pacified and reconciled”.

“May all Argentina remain faithful to the Gospel and open wide its heart to Christ, the Redeemer of humanity, the hope of humankind.”

“May all Argentina remain faithful to the Gospel and open wide its heart to Christ, the Redeemer of humanity, the hope of humankind.”

The story of Our Lady of Luján

The small statue of Our Lady of Luján is believed to have arrived on Argentine soil in May 1630 aboard a ship from São Paulo, Brazil, in the care of Manuel de los Ríos, an enslaved man originally from Angola.

According to tradition, the cart carrying the crate containing the statue reached the Luján River and could not be moved any farther. For this reason, the statue remained there. Its story soon spread, and large numbers of pilgrims began arriving to venerate it.

Later, Pope Leo XIII granted permission for the statue to be crowned. The coronation took place in May 1887, and the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Luján was established for the Saturday preceding the Fourth Sunday after Easter.