We all know it as the Monument to the Spanish. However, the monument that dominates one of Buenos Aires’ most recognizable corners is not dedicated to Spain, but to Argentina. At its base, for almost a century, some of the largest public demonstrations of faith in our history have taken place. In 2026, Leo XIV will add another chapter to its history.

There are corners we cross hundreds of times without wondering what stories they hold. The intersection of Libertador and Sarmiento avenues in Buenos Aires is one of them.

There stands what generations of Buenos Aires residents have learned to call simply “the Monument to the Spaniards.” But one only needs to stop in front of it to discover a first curious fact: it is not, in reality, a monument dedicated to the Spanish.

Its official name is the Monument to the Magna Carta and the Four Regions of Argentina. It was the gift that the Spanish community wished to give to the nation on the occasion of the Centennial of the May Revolution. Financed by public subscription, its cornerstone was laid in 1910 and, after a construction marked by delays and difficulties, it was inaugurated in 1927.

Spain contributed the gesture, the art, and the contributions of its immigrants. The tribute was for Argentina.

At the top stands the figure of the Republic. In the fountain, four bronze sculptures represent La Pampa, the Andes, El Chaco, and El Plata. Engraved on the base is a phrase from the Preamble to the Constitution: “And to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves, to our posterity, and to all men of the world who wish to dwell on Argentine soil.”

There is something particularly suggestive about the fact that this monument, born as a tribute to the Nation, has also ended up becoming the setting for some of the great meetings of the Argentine Church.

It was in October 1934 that Buenos Aires hosted the 32nd International Eucharistic Congress. For the grand celebrations in Palermo, the monument was encased within a gigantic cross and the liturgical structure built around it.

Among those who arrived in Argentina was Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, Secretary of State to Pius XI and papal legate to the Congress. On Sunday, October 14, at ten in the morning, he presided over the solemn pontifical mass there. Five years later he would be elected Pope, taking the name Pius XII.

The scene remained etched in memory. So much so, that almost half a century later another Pope recalled it from that same spot.

It was June 1982. Argentina was in the final days of the Falklands War when John Paul II made his first visit to the country. On June 12, he celebrated Mass for the Argentine Nation there.

In his homily, John Paul II himself recalled the 1934 Congress, Pacelli’s presence, and the great cross that had enveloped the monument. This was no casual reference. The Argentina before him was wounded by war, and the Pope spoke of the Eucharist as love that unites and reconciles.

Two years later, in 1984, on the half-century anniversary of that International Congress, the Argentine Church again chose Palermo for the closing of the National Eucharistic Congress.

The celebration was presided over by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, Secretary of State of the Holy See and papal legate of John Paul II. Among the participants was also the Argentinian Cardinal Eduardo Pironio, now a Blessed.

Fifty years had passed since Pacelli. Another Secretary of State, also sent as a papal legate, was meeting with the Argentine Church in that same setting.

The history of the place would add yet another name that, years later, would acquire a universal dimension.

On October 12, 1998, Jorge Mario Bergoglio had been Archbishop of Buenos Aires for only a few months when he presided over two massive Confirmation celebrations at the Monument to the Spanish. In the morning, more than 8,200 children were confirmed; in the afternoon, nearly 12,800 young people and adults—some 95,000 people in total. Fifteen years later, that same archbishop celebrating Mass in Palermo would be elected successor of Peter, taking the name Francis.

Pacelli had been there before becoming Pius XII. Bergoglio, before becoming Francis. John Paul II arrived as Pope and today the Church venerates him as a saint. Pironio participated in that return in 1984 and today he is a blessed.

Generations changed, Popes changed, and Argentina changed. The crossroads remained, witnessing the return time and again of a people who gather to publicly express their faith.

In November 2026, if the itinerary, which is still awaiting final confirmation from the Holy See, remains unchanged, Leo XIV will once again gather a large crowd in that same location. The main Mass planned for his visit to Buenos Aires will take place at the Monument to the Spanish.

Perhaps then it’s worth looking at the monument again. Really looking at it.

Let us remember that what we call the “Monument to the Spanish” is, in reality, a monument dedicated to our nation. It originated as a gift from immigrants who made this land their home. And it bears inscriptions from our Constitution that speak of an Argentina open to all people of the world who wish to live here.

Around those stones, a part of our history of faith was also written.

Perhaps street corners also have memories. And this intersection of Libertador and Sarmiento holds many.

There, two avenues meet, but for almost a century, Argentine history and the history of our faith have also intersected.

When Leo XIV arrives there, he will not only encounter the people who come out to greet him. At that intersection of Libertador and Sarmiento, he will also enter the very heart of the history of the Argentine Church, a history of faith that, generation after generation, finds itself again in the same place.