From LA NACION · Gabriela Origlia · · 3m
Pope León XIV draws 5km queue to Córdoba 20 hours early
Pilgrims from across Argentina and beyond camp overnight at the airfield where the pontiff will celebrate mass on Tuesday.
In brief
Pilgrims from across Argentina and beyond camp overnight at the airfield where the pontiff will celebrate mass on Tuesday. Pope León XIV's visit to Córdoba on Tuesday drew massive crowds, with five kilometres of pilgrims queuing 20 hours before the mass at Fadea airfield. Originally reported by LA NACION.
Five kilometres queue before gates open
Pope León XIV visits Córdoba on Tuesday. By midday Monday, five kilometres of pilgrims had formed at Fadea airfield where he will celebrate mass, though gates were not scheduled to open until 5pm.
Pilgrims arrive from across the region
People from across Argentina, Peru and Venezuela began queuing from early Monday morning. A group from Salta arrived Saturday and are staying in a school, determined to see the Pope pass in the popemobile.
Faith draws them to wait in the heat
Silvana, twenty-two, arrived at ten in the morning. She said: "It is by faith, by the hope of seeing him up close." She sheltered under a tarp from the strong midday sun.
“It is by faith, by the hope of seeing him up close”
The Pope's route through the city
After mass at Fadea, Pope León XIV will travel the internal roads in the popemobile, then move in a capsule for forty blocks before returning to the popemobile for three point five kilometres through the…
Balcony greeting at the Arzobispado
The Pope will greet crowds from a balcony at the Arzobispado de Córdoba around one thirty pm on Tuesday. It is the same balcony where Pope John Paul II stood in nineteen eighty-seven.
Authorities expect eight hundred thousand at mass
Provincial and Church authorities project around eight hundred thousand people will attend the mass at Fadea, with another four hundred thousand accompanying the Pope along his route through the city.
Entertainment and spiritual music all day
From Tuesday afternoon, artists including Jairo, Jorge Rojas, Q' Lokura and Magui Olave will perform at Fadea. The programme combines folklore, cuarteto, popular music and expressions of spirituality.
Medical teams stationed throughout the site
Fadea has been divided into quadrants holding twelve thousand to fourteen thousand people each, with medical posts, ambulances, emergency corridors and assistance teams distributed across the airfield and along the Pope's route.
Sacred objects from Córdoba's saints
The mass will include a one hundred fifty year old wooden Christ from Traslasierra, sent by San Gabriel Brochero. The chalice used by Argentina's first saint will also be on the altar at Fadea.
Governor calls it a historic responsibility
Governor Martín Llaryora said after the final coordination meeting: "It is an enormous pride and also a great responsibility that our province is protagonist of this historic event."
“It is an enormous pride and also a great responsibility that our province is protagonist of this historic event”
The key point
Pope León XIV's visit to Córdoba on Tuesday drew massive crowds, with five kilometres of pilgrims queuing 20 hours before the mass at Fadea airfield.
