Cuba Readies for Pope Francis’s Visit

A meeting among representatives of the Holy See, members of the Catholic Church and civil authorities from Cuba was held as part of the arrangements for the visit of Pope Francis in September.

During the meeting, held yesterday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participants expressed the full willingness of the Cuban State and government to offer all the necessary support for the success of the apostolic visit of His Holiness to the Caribbean nation.

The Cuban delegation was presided over by Deputy Foreign Minister Marcelino Medina, and Caridad Diego, head of the Office of Attention to Religious Affairs at the Cuban Communist Party’s Central Committee, among other officials.

Alberto Gasbarri, Head of the Organization of Papal Trips, Dr. Paolo Corvini, of the Protocol Office of the Vatican Secretariat of State, and Monsignor Veceslav Tumir, Charge d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in the Havana, were present for the Holy See.

Cardinal Jaime Ortega, Archbishop of Havana, and Monsignor Dionisio Garcia, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference, among other bishops of the island, attended the meeting for the Cuban Catholic Church.