How did we prepare for Pope Leo XIV's visit to Argentina? What questions did this event raise for us as a society? What role do faith, education, communication, and technology play in our daily lives today? These questions gave rise to... Leon arrives, a series of six video podcasts promoted by the Argentine Episcopal Conference (CEA), with the participation of students and graduates of the Faculty of Communication of the Universidad Austral and from the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA).
Hosted by journalist Nacho Girón , each episode features a conversation with specialists in philosophy, theology, sociology, ethics, and communication to explore the themes surrounding the papal visit. The interviews are combined with testimonies gathered on the street by students from the Faculty of Sciences, aiming to broaden perspectives and foster dialogue.
Paola Delbosco , PhD in Philosophy and member of the National Academy of Education: “The vocation I found after finishing my studies is teaching. Helping people open their minds, ask questions, and grow in that process. That’s what I’ve been doing for 51 years.” Reflecting on the meaning of work and success, she shared: “If success is simply an external result and not inner growth, it’s not very useful.” And, when she thinks about the future of new generations, she proposes two words: “I would say hope and commitment. That is, that a good future is possible. And the commitment to strive for that good, because ultimately it awaits the participation of the new generation who bring initiative.”
Máximo Jurcinovic , priest and director of the Communication and Press Office of the Argentine Episcopal Conference: “One senses that there are dialogues that have arisen specifically because of the Pope’s visit to Argentina. Putting something above all else, because it’s not that the differences have been set aside, but rather that there is a feeling that something is uniting us above those differences. As one bishop said, it is the first miracle of Pope Leo: that we are all living together and coordinating, discussing as well, I won’t deny it, but with great dedication.”
Marcela Mazzini , Vice Dean of the Faculty of Theology at UCA: "I believe that in Latin America the figure of the Pope always resonates, even if only as a moral authority, let's say, right? As a reference point for values, even for people who are not Christian, who are not Catholic, but who often look to him as a role model. There is an enthusiasm that, as a society, will be good for us; it will be a point of unity."
Enrique del Percio , PhD in Legal Philosophy and Rector of the University of San Isidro: “We are hyperconnected, but poorly communicated. This leads us to isolate ourselves with those who think like us, reinforcing our biases. However, you see in people in general, and young people in particular, a very strong thirst for communication.”
Gustavo Béliz , a specialist in ethics applied to artificial intelligence and the future of work, said: “Above all, the meaning, the purpose, what we are building, who decides what we are building, the direction; it has to be integral human development, and it is possible to do so.” Addressing young people, he said: “I would tell them to open wide the doors of hope. The voice of active, creative, imaginative hope is what calls to all generations, and particularly to young people.”
Agustín Salvia , director of the Argentine Social Debt Observatory at UCA: "Be citizens, be economic citizens. Keep fighting even if it's difficult, keep studying. You have the vocation and the capacity to transform Argentina."
Agustín Podestá , director of the Department of Theology at the University of Salvador: “Theology cannot be something too purely theoretical. Pope Francis himself, in a letter to the Faculty of Theology for its centennial, says not to do theoretical theology. It's not that it isn't important—it must be done—but don't stop there. What we have to do is engage in dialogue without imposing. Jesus didn't impose. Jesus accompanied.”
Martín Poncino , coordinator of the Christian Humanist Cycle at UCA: “A teacher isn’t someone who gives you information, although they may do so at times, but rather someone who stimulates you, someone you can see yourself reflected in, who believes in you and thus teaches you to believe in yourself. Thinking isn’t about repetition, but rather a transformation, a process.” He summarizes: “Technology, artificial intelligence, focuses more on how to do something. Wisdom provides the why, the question of the core.”
The project involved the participation of academic and professional teams from the Universidad Austral and from UCA, together with students and graduates from our faculty who took on different tasks during the production process.
Academic leaders: Hernán Cappiello, Soledad Arreguez, Esteban Pittaro and Clara Fontán.
Journalistic production: Macarena Garrone.
Audiovisual production: María Laura Morán and Ignacio Armendáriz.
Edited by: Juan Palmieri.
Production assistance: Gustavo Zavala, Milagros Pearson, Ana Clara Peternelj, Juan Martínez, Ignacio Armendáriz, Franco Trotta and Liz Martina Duarte Báez.
The six episodes can be viewed on the official website of the Pope's visit, in the Reflection section , and on the YouTube playlist of the Argentine Episcopal Conference:
