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 Argentina |  Holy See |
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Foreign relations betweenArgentina and theHoly See, have existed for over a century. The former pope,Pope Francis, was the formerArchbishop of Buenos Aires.
Argentina, which was a Spanish colony as part of theViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata,lost its relation with theHoly See during theArgentine War of Independence. Both countries reestablished diplomatic relations on 17 April 1840, during the administration ofJuan Manuel de Rosas. Argentina has an embassy to the Holy See, and the Holy See has an embassy inBuenos Aires.
Pope John Paul II made twopastoral visits. The first was in June 1982 where he called for an end to theFalklands War.[1] The second was in April 1987 where he lectured on morality.[2][3]
Vatican officials, including Pope John Paul II and Vatican Secretary of StateCardinal Agostino Casaroli acted as mediators to help resolve Argentina's dispute withChile over theBeagle Channel. After the two countriesalmost went to war over the area in 1978, John Paul II became interested in resolving the dispute, which led to discussions between Chile and Argentina being mediated by the Vatican, and Argentine Foreign MinisterDante Caputo and Chilean Foreign Minister Jaime Del Valle issuing a joint statement of peace and friendship with the intent of developing a final treaty to resolve sovereignty in the channel.[4]
In early 2008, Argentine PresidentCristina Fernández de Kirchner appointed Alberto Iribarne to be Argentina's ambassador to the Holy See. The Vatican refused to accept him as an ambassador because he was divorced. After ten months of poor relations between the two countries, during which Argentina refused to appoint a new candidate and the Vatican refused to accept Iribarne, Argentina conceded and appointedJuan Pablo Cafiero to the post, which the Vatican quickly ratified. In March 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, then-Archbishop of Buenos Aires was elected Pope and took the Papal name asPope Francis, becoming the first Pope from Argentina, the first Pope to come from theAmericas, first Pope fromSouth America and the first from theSouthern Hemisphere.[5]
In May 2021, Argentine PresidentAlberto Fernández paid a visit to the Holy See and met with Pope Francis.[6] In February 2024, PresidentJavier Milei paid a visit to the Vatican.[7]
In April 2025, Argentine PresidentJavier Milei attended thefuneral for Pope Francis at the Vatican.[8]
Presidential visits from Argentina to the Holy See
Papal visits from the Holy See to Argentina
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