Pope Leo XIV Receives Chile’s Kast on Family and Migration
Cordial talks highlighted popular piety, bilateral ties, and shared concern about falling birth rates after a private audience at the Apostolic Palace.
On Wednesday, November 4, 2026, Pope Leo XIV received Chilean President José Antonio Kast Rist in audience at the Apostolic Palace, ahead of the Pope’s general audience.
Kast was accompanied by his wife, María Pía Adriazola, two ministers, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, and the president of the Supreme Court. The private meeting lasted about forty to forty-five minutes; the Holy See Press Office did not publish a duration.
Affection for Chile and gifts exchanged
President Kast said the Pope “has shown his affection and appreciation for Chile,” recalling that Leo XIV, as superior general of the Augustinians, had visited Santiago, Concepción, San Pedro de la Paz, and San Fernando several times. Kast quoted the Pope as keeping “the best memories of Chile” and of its popular religiosity.
Kast said the Pope also voiced concern for peace “not only between brother countries but in various places of the world,” expressed interest in “the family and the birth rate, which is becoming increasingly difficult in the different nations,” sent a great blessing to every Chilean, and assured his prayers for each branch of the state.
Kast presented the Pope with an image of the Virgin of Carmen restored by the heritage department of La Moneda, the seat of the Chilean government. The Virgin of Carmen is Chile’s patroness; the centenary of her coronation falls this year. He also gave a copy of La Edad Media en Chile by the Benedictine Gabriel Guarda, OSB (1928–2020). The Vatican gave Kast and each member of the delegation a medal.
Talks with Archbishop Gallagher
After the papal audience, Kast met Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. The Holy See Press Office described the talks as “cordial.” They underscored the good relations between the Holy See and Chile and the Church’s contribution to social and spiritual life “through popular religiosity.” Officials also addressed “some matters of common interest in the regional and international sphere, with particular reference to migration and demographic decline.”
Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna and José García Ruminot of the General Secretariat of the Presidency also took part.
The encounter was the first between Kast and Leo XIV. Kast’s government began on March 11, 2026. After the Vatican visit, the Chilean president continued to Madrid for the XXX Ibero-American Summit, where ten of twenty-two heads of state were expected to attend.
The Holy See’s emphasis on demographic decline and migration places the audience within the Church’s ongoing concern for the family, openness to life, and the dignity of peoples on the move—themes long present in papal teaching and in the pastoral life of local Churches.