Abstract
This article evaluates the visit of Pope Francis to Cuba in September 2015 through interviews with significant actors in the events surrounding it. Encompassed with a multitude of expectations relating to the processes of change taking place in Cuba, the papal visit marked a historic moment both for the Catholic Church in Cuba and the Cuban state, also due to the conflictual history of the church–state relations and the increasingly active participation of the Catholic Church in Cuban society. A significant factor of the papal visit was the role of Pope Francis in the rapprochement between Cuba and the US. As the visit portrayed Pope Francis as an active participant in the processes of change that is occurring in Cuba, the article also examines the expectations, interpretations and outcomes of the visit as well as the role attributed to Pope Francis in contemporary Cuba.
Highlights
Pope Francis spent four days on Cuban soil in September 2015
After the easing of the tension in the church–state relations in the 1990s, the presence of the global, transnational Catholic Church on the island has been most visibly conveyed in the papal visits to Cuba
When the rapprochement and re-establishment of the diplomatic ties between Cuba and the United States was announced in December, 2014, it was revealed that the negotiations that eventually led to the historical détente had been initiated by Pope Francis and the Catholic Church
Summary
Pope Francis spent four days on Cuban soil in September 2015. During these days, he visited three cities: Havana, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba. After the easing of the tension in the church–state relations in the 1990s, the presence of the global, transnational Catholic Church on the island has been most visibly conveyed in the papal visits to Cuba. Each of the visits has reinforced the impression that the Holy See continues to monitor the church–state relations in Cuba and is actively engaged in defining the position of the church in Cuban civic life. When the rapprochement and re-establishment of the diplomatic ties between Cuba and the United States was announced in December, 2014, it was revealed that the negotiations that eventually led to the historical détente had been initiated by Pope Francis and the Catholic Church While he had written letters to President Castro and President Obama, Cuban bishops had acted as mediators in the process in Cuba and the Vatican had hosted some of the negotiations. The words played a part in establishing an uplift for the church in Cuba, one that was shortly after reinforced by the visit of Pope Francis to Cuba in September 2015.6
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