A greeting that once seemed unlikely

The pope leo argentina visit opened with a handshake that few would have predicted years ago. Milei, a close ally of Donald Trump, had famously insulted Francis for his pro-poor teachings, calling his countryman an "imbecile" on the campaign trail for championing social justice. He later softened his tone, and on Sunday he was at the plane to greet the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Milei continues to insult the press and the opposition, but his relationship with Leo has so far been cordial, according to the report.

Crowds behind the barriers

Several hundred people chanting "Papa Leon" and waving Vatican flags gathered outside the presidential palace, where Milei hosted the pope. They were kept at a distance behind anti-riot police barriers.

Among those who came:

• •Brian Inacio Rodriguez, 26, a job seeker, travelled five days overland from Ushuaia to see the pontiff.
• •Liliana Deblauwe, a 68-year-old retired teacher, hoped the pope would unite Argentines the way football does.
• •Maria Veronica Panza, a 52-year-old housewife, wanted the pope to bring peace and unity - and to remove the president.

Rodriguez had no regrets about the journey. "It was worth it to be near the holy father," he said.

A homeland visit long awaited

The Buenos Aires papal visit is the first by a pontiff to the home country of the late pope Francis in nearly four decades. Francis never returned during his papacy, leaving local Catholics disappointed, and the trip is being watched as a litmus test of Church support in Argentina.

It is also Leo's first trip to Latin America, the world's most Catholic continent, where secularism is growing fast. A recent University of Buenos Aires poll found 57.7 percent of people identify as Catholic, down from around 90 percent in the 1960s.

The pope is on an ambitious 12-day continental tour just three weeks after undergoing surgery for lung cancer. He served nearly two decades as a missionary in Latin America, and began this tour in Uruguay, where he condemned drug violence and urged an end to child poverty.

What the four days will hold

Leo is expected to speak out in defense of the vulnerable over the course of his four-day visit, in the wake of Milei's cuts, which the report says have left millions on the breadline. Milei took office promising to revive the economy and tame inflation by shrinking the welfare state, targeting public hospitals, universities and pensioners in particular, and the poverty rate rose to 32.3 percent in September.

The planned program includes:

• •A visit to a home for disabled people and a prison.
• •Three open-air masses.

The Catholic Church in Argentina expects a total of seven million faithful at the various events. Leo is expected to keep pressing the case for society's most vulnerable through the remaining days of the visit.