After the death of Franciszek Milei, he announced a seven -day national mourning in Argentina. “Despite the differences that proved to be insignificant, the opportunity to get to know him, in his goodness and wisdom, was a real honor for me,” he wrote in social media.
The accounts of President Argentina with the first pope in history from this country were tense. Francis made concern about the poor and excluded the leitmotif of his pontificate, while Milei, a supporter of radical economic liberalism, tries to dismantle the guardian state built for decades.
Earlier, the president did not spare the words of criticism
During the election campaign, in the autumn of 2023, Milei called Franciszek “imbecile” and “representative of evil on earth”. He accused his countryman of sympathizing with communist regimes. Francis assessed, however, that “virtue is not to accumulate but give away”, which was widely assessed as criticism of Milei's radical reforms.
After taking the office of President Milea, he softened the tone towards Francis. In February 2024 he met him in the Vatican. Their conversation lasted just over an hour, and Milei invited Francis to visit Argentina, which he did not visit even from his choice for the pope
