Pope Francis would not be the first religious leader to visit Antarctica. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill visited an Antarctic research station — and walked with penguins — in 2016 as part of a trip to Latin America, which included a historic meeting with Pope Francis in Cuba.
Antarctica is home to a handful of Catholic chapels, mostly within Argentina’s territorial claims on the continent. Argentine Jesuit Father Felipe Lleida offered the first Catholic Mass in Antarctica on Feb. 20, 1946, in the Stella Maris chapel of Argentina’s Orcadas Antarctic Base.
After the Mass, the priest sent a telegram to Pope Pius XII: “First Mass celebrated. Cross erected. Cult of Virgin Mary established. Antarctic Continent, Orkney Islands, Republic of Argentina. Father Lérida, Jesuit, Buenos Aires, requests blessing.”
Priests of Argentina’s military bishopric continue to minister to researchers who work on the globe’s southernmost continent. Last week, children received their first sacrament of Communion on the Esperanza Base, one of two civilian settlements in Antarctica.
Australia holds the largest Antarctic territory among the seven sovereign states with territorial claims on the continent, including Norway and New Zealand.
In the interview with Argentina’s national news agency, Télam, Pope Francis also expressed an interest to visit Oceania.