by Ana Paula Morales
Buenos Aires – The apostolic visit of Pope Leo XIV to Argentina will conclude with a Eucharistic celebration dedicated to charity and social inclusion, to be celebrated with the vast crowd gathered outside the National Shrine of Our Lady of Luján, Patroness of Argentina.
Ahead of this major event, a group of 96 families, comprising a total of 534 participants, have also decided to welcome the Pontiff in Luján through an initiative centered on sharing, community life, and prayer. Amid tents, opportunities for sharing and a prayer vigil, parents, children and grandparents will spend the night together before making their way to the site of the celebration.
In an interview with Mexican journalist Ana Paula Morales, Maite Grimaux, one of the organizers of the initiative, shares her expectations for the encounter with the Pope.
How did the idea of organizing the camp come about, and how did you manage to involve so many families?
When we heard that the Pope would be coming to Argentina and visiting Luján, we realized it was a unique opportunity. While talking with some friends we said to one another how wonderful it would be to be there to welcome him. We approached a spiritual retreat centre and asked whether we could use its grounds. They very generously agreed.
At first, we thought we would involve only a few families, but then we decided to extend the invitation to the entire school community. We had initially planned for 60 places, but registration was already full in less than half an hour. In the end, 120 families signed up. We were deeply struck by the tremendous desire to meet the Pope and share in the preparations together.
Who will be taking part?
Most of the participants are families with school-age children, but there will also be young people who have already completed their studies, as well as some grandparents. The youngest participant is six months old, while the oldest is 81. It will truly be an intergenerational gathering.
As a mother, what does to experience this moment together with your family mean?
I still remember John Paul II’s visit to Argentina. I was six years old, and that experience left a profound mark on me. My husband and I want our children to have a similar memory to treasure.
Perhaps we will only be able to see the Pope on the large screens, but what really matters is feeling that we are the Church, taking to the streets to welcome our shepherd and publicly bearing witness to our faith with joy.
What has impressed you most during the preparations?
We decided that this camp would be organized by everyone together, not just by the eight members of our organizing committee. We have set up working groups responsible for security, cleaning, medical assistance, and liturgy. A priest will also be accompanying us, available for confessions and celebrate Mass.
Everyone is contributing generously, and from the very beginning of the preparations we have been experiencing this initiative as a celebration.
How will the day of waiting unfold?
The children will play and take part in sporting activities, while the adults will share mate, lunch and time together in conversation. Several moments of prayer are also planned: at 4 p.m., the recitation of the Rosary, accompanied by hymns to the Virgin Mary; at 6 p.m., the celebration of Mass; and at 9 p.m., Eucharistic adoration.
Our aim is to prepare our hearts for the encounter with the Pope and to pray that his visit will bear fruit in the lives of the Argentine people.
What intentions will you bring to Our Lady of Luján?
Each family will bring its own concerns, expressions of gratitude and hopes. We want to entrust everything to Our Lady and experience this moment in communion with the Pope.
What would you like your children to remember about this experience?
It will be a demanding experience: sleeping in tents and walking several kilometres with young children. But we want to approach everything with a spirit of mutual service, putting ourselves at one another’s disposal.
I imagine the square in Luján filled with people, with white and yellow colors everywhere. We will be there, together with the Pope, at the feet of Our Lady.
I would like my children to treasure this memory throughout their lives, just as I have treasured my own memory of meeting Saint John Paul II.
There are also graces that we cannot see, which will gradually mature in each person’s heart. In time, we will discover the fruits that the Lord will have brought forth through this visit. We hope they will be abundant for our families, our children and all the people of Argentina.
Pope Francis did not have the opportunity to return to Argentina during his pontificate. How are you experiencing the arrival of Leo XIV?
I believe that not returning to his homeland was a great sacrifice for Pope Francis, who no longer belonged to Argentina alone, but to the entire Church and the whole world.
We are very happy that Pope Leo XIV is now coming. We hope that his visit will transform the hearts of the Argentine people, make us builders of bridges of unity and help us journey towards peace.
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