Pope Leo XIV to Visit Argentina Disability Home as Funding Pressures Mount

Pope Leo XIV will visit a Catholic home for people with disabilities in Claypole, a working-class suburb south of Buenos Aires, on November 9, a day after he is scheduled to meet President Javier Milei. The two stops will take the pontiff from the presidential palace to an institution whose staff say the government's spending cuts have put pressure on the round-the-clock care residents need to walk, talk, eat and bathe.

The Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione houses about 400 people with disabilities and is laid out like a small town, with roads linking dozens of residential buildings, classrooms and therapy rooms around a central square and church. Alongside basic care, it offers cooking workshops, gardening and dance classes aimed at helping residents build skills and pursue their own goals. Caregivers say families often turn to the home when they cannot afford care or are unable or unwilling to provide it themselves, and that most residents receive no family visits.

For years the home also trained future priests. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis encouraged seminarians to spend a month at the Cottolengo before ordination, putting their faith into practice through service to people on society's margins. Francis never returned to Argentina during his 12-year papacy, disappointing many of his compatriots.

Fernando Montero, who oversees disability services at the home, said the upcoming visit will draw international attention at a critical moment. Government deliveries of medicines, diapers, dressings and food stopped in November 2025, he said, leaving the home to rely on its own funds and donations to fill the gap.

"Pope Leo's visit gives us great hope that this problem — and people with disabilities themselves — will gain visibility," Montero said.