Argentines waited long for their homegrown Pope Francis to visit the country he left in 2013 to become the head of the Catholic Church. 

With the supreme pontiff's death, the return to his native country never happened.

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Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, was 88. He had recently suffered a serious bout of double pneumonia.

Many in Argentina anticipated a visit to the country shortly after Francis took office and visited Brazil, one of the many international trips he made during his pontificate. There was again chatter about a trip last year.

But in both cases, the visit never materialized.

Guillermo Marco, former spokesman for nine years for the pope when he was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, told Reuters that he believed the pope would enjoy returning to his country, "but he is fully aware there is a whole network of supporters and detractors who are fighting over him," he said.

During his papacy, the first ever by a Latin American pope, Argentina has been rocked by repeat economic crises and political volatility. The current government is led by a far-right libertarian Javier Milei, who has helped stabilize the economy though ushered in tough austerity. 

Milei, well before becoming president, called Francis "the representative of evil on Earth", though later apologized and has since met with him.

Some said Francis should have visited regardless of the political environment over the years.

"The chorus is divided. There are those who say that he should have come anyway because it would have helped close the political rift a little," said Sergio Rubin, journalist and co-author along of papal biography "The Jesuit".

Rogelio Pfirter, former ambassador to the Vatican from 2016 to 2019 and a student of Bergoglio at a Jesuit school in the Argentine province of Santa Fe, said Francis' vocation to boost inclusivity in the Church had led him to prioritize other things despite remaining "very Argentine".

Many would still have liked to welcome the Argentine pope to their land and remember him as Bergoglio, the son of Italian immigrants who lived modestly when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, a lifestyle he brought to the Vatican.

"That the pope has not come until now hurts me a little," said Claudia Nudel, an Argentine, at a mass in February in Buenos Aires to pray for the pope's recovery.

Silvia Leda, 70, also at the mass, agreed - but understood that other things had taken priority.

"I would have liked him to come, but I think the most important thing is what he can do for the world," she said.

(Production: Horacio Soria, Miguel Lo Bianco, Nina Lopez)