Cuba: Raul Castro Welcomed Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI arrived on Monday to Santiago de Cuba to kick off a three-day apostollic visit, also including a stay in Havana, the capital.

The Pope arrived in the Antonio Maceo International Airport after visiting Mexico in his papal trip number 23, the second to Latin America alter that paid to Brazil in 2007.

According to the program, Benedict XVI is scheduled to offer a mass and visit the sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity in El Cobre in the Cuban eastern city.

Remarks by President Raúl Castro at the welcoming ceremony of Pope Benedict XVI

According to the program, Benedict XVI is scheduled to offer a mass and visit the sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity in El Cobre in the Cuban eastern city, offer another mass in Havana and meet with government and religious authorities before returning Rome on Wednesday afternoon.

Benedict XVI came to Cuba at an invitation made by the Government and the Catholic Bishops Conference of Cuba.

His stay, under the slogan Pilgrim of Hope, is part of celebrations of the Jubilee Year for the 400th anniversary of the apparition of the image of Our Lady of Charity, the country’s patron saint, at the Bay of Nipe.

The Pope is being given a warm welcome by the Cuban people and authorities.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)