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Gustavo Vera exchanged hundreds of letters with Francis, having become friends with him when he was still archbishop.

"He always used to say he would go to Argentina when he felt that he was an instrument to bring about national unity, to help overcome the rift, to try to bring Argentines back together," Mr Vera said.

But according to Mr Vera, the Pope met with people "from the whole political and social spectrum of Argentina".

Although he maintained his connection with Argentina, Mr Vera said, Pope Francis no longer felt he belonged to just one country.

But Mr Vera acknowledged that not everyone felt the same way, and suggested it was up to Argentines to look within themselves for answers: "Rather than blaming Francis, we Argentines should ask ourselves what we were doing that meant we did not deserve the Pope's visit."