Francis expressed sympathy for the strife of Argentines pulled into poverty as they bore the brunt of Milei’s fiscal shock therapy, voicing concern over what he called a “save yourself approach” to doing politics and publicly criticizing Argentine security forces for using pepper spray against Argentine retirees protesting for better pensions.

Francis never gave an explicit answer for not returning as pontiff to his native country, but some experts say he worried about having his presence used for political purposes.

Pope Francis never set foot in his native Argentina during his papacy, and that left many of the faithful in his homeland feeling puzzled and snubbed by the world's first Latin American pope.