In homeland of Pope Francis, long absence prompts prayers for return

Catholic faithfuls pray during a mass at the Basilica San Jose de Flores, where Pope Francis used to attend in his childhood, in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - In the Buenos Aires shanty town area of Villa 21-24, Justina Ayala, 72, remembers the day Pope Francis left Argentina for the Vatican 10 years ago. He has not been back to his homeland - struggling with debt, economic crisis and poverty - since.

"We pray a lot that one day he will come back and hug us, since it is far away and I, for one, will not be able to go there," Ayala said near her local parish where she once met the pope when he was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.