On February 12, Pope Francis will hold a private audience with Javier Milei, the recently elected president of Argentina, the Vatican said on Monday.
It is anticipated that Milei would extend an invitation to Francis to travel to Argentina. Since taking office as head of the Catholic Church in 2013, the 87-year-old pope has not visited his native country.
Milei had called Francis “the evil one,” “nefarious,” and a “imbecile” who “promotes communism” before his election in October.
When Milei requested the pope to visit and Francis called to congratulate the libertarian president on his election, it seemed as though the two had made up.
Milei, 53, is also scheduled to attend a mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on February 11th, which will celebrate the canonization of Argentina’s first female saint.
Melei describes herself as a “anarcho-capitalist was brought up Catholic but claims to have been a student of the Jewish Torah in recent years.