VIP area with catering at Pope Leo XIV's Mass in Buenos Aires draws criticism

A reserved area for celebrities, politicians and business figures has set off a row in Argentina after the Mass Pope Leo XIV celebrated on Monday, November 9, in front of the Monumento de los Españoles, a landmark in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires. The area had tables, food and drink, a formal dress code and invitation-only entry by QR code. According to InfoVaticana, the section had its own tent and seats close to the sanctuary, while thousands of people, among them religious sisters, priests and volunteers, waited outdoors for hours to follow the ceremony. The Argentine Bishops' Conference put attendance at an estimated 2.5 million, based on local police figures.

Inside the VIP area

InfoVaticana reported that the invitation to the area required long pants, or knee-length skirts and dresses, covered shoulders, and barred clothing with political, partisan or advertising messages. Those seated there included well-known Argentine television figures such as Valeria Mazza, Pampita, Yanina Latorre, Analía Franchín and Flor de la V, along with Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lorenzetti.

Latorre said she attended on a formal invitation received through official channels and denied paying for her place. The organizers have insisted that the Mass was free and that no tickets were sold. Images of the area, with tables set beside the papal altar, circulated on social media and drew criticism from journalists and volunteers. The journalist Nacho Otero wrote on social media: "What a lack of respect to have set up a VIP pen for 'celebrities'," and said religious sisters, priests and elderly people were sitting on the ground while people in that section were served food and drink.

Contrast with the pope's message

Critics pointed to the contrast with the message of simplicity and closeness to the poor that Leo XIV has repeated during his trip through South America. The catering was contracted to a private production company for several million dollars, and critics questioned whether that squared with the pope's words, given the hours much of the crowd spent waiting outdoors.

Where the invitations came from

The origin of the invitations has set Argentine authorities against each other. According to InfoVaticana, the journalist Gonzalo Prado said the General Secretariat of the Presidency and the Foreign Ministry sent the lists to DF Entertainment, which issued the QR codes. The government of the City of Buenos Aires had its own allotment of 250 invitations.

Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel said she did not receive her QR code. Sources at the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace, say the invitation was sent to her. The contradiction has not been publicly resolved.

Request for information in Congress

Deputy Esteban Paulón has filed a draft resolution calling on the government to report the full list of guests in the VIP section, the cost of the catering and who decided each admission. DF Entertainment bid 8.69 billion pesos, about $5.6 million, for production services for the event, awarded by direct purchase rather than public tender.

Paulón's measure also points to a possible conflict of interest over the company's links to the group that runs Luna Park, the Buenos Aires entertainment venue. Neither the Argentine presidency nor the city government has issued a joint response to the request for information, which must now go through Congress.

Largest Mass of the pontificate

The Palermo ceremony drew by far the biggest crowd since Leo XIV began his pontificate in May 2025. The Argentine Bishops' Conference told CNN it estimated 2.5 million people, while the city government put the figure at "more than two million." People began gathering on Sunday night and formed a corridor of nearly three kilometers (about two miles) along Avenida del Libertador.

Until now, only two celebrations of the current pontificate had drawn more than one million faithful: the closing of the Jubilee of Young People in Rome on August 3, 2025, and the Mass in Madrid last June, with between one and 1.5 million people. Large Masses on papal trips usually include a reserved section near the altar for officials and official delegations, for protocol and security reasons.