The Pope speaks with journalists on the papal flight

Vatican City, 19 September 2015 (VIS) – Shortly after beginning his trip from Rome to Havana, the Pope greeted the 76 journalists accompanying him on the flight. As indicated by the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., the media coverage of this trip will be more intense than usual. In a very cordial atmosphere, the Holy Father enquired about the journalists' families and received various edible gifts, including dulce de leche and an empanada, a typical Argentinian pastry, that he offered to all those present.

“Thank you for the welcome”, he said. “I wish you a good journey. If I am not mistaken, I think this is the longest trip I have made. … Fr. Lombardi mentioned peace. Today's world thirsts for peace. There are wars, immigrants who flee, this wave of immigration as a result of war, to escape from death and in search of life. Today I am happy as I was greeted at the door of St. Anna by one of the two families residing in the Vatican, in the parish of the same name. They are Syrian refugees. You can see the suffering in their faces. … This word: peace. I thank you for all that you do in your work to build bridges: small bridges, but bridges nonetheless, that together all form the great bridge of peace. I wish you a good trip and good work. Pray for me. Thank you”.

He also offered a greeting to all the journalists' colleagues working in their offices.

The Pope arrives in Cuba, a meeting point for all peoples who come together in friendship

Vatican City, 20 September 2015 (VIS) – “Missionary of Mercy” is the theme chosen by Pope Francis for his visit to Cuba, where he began his tenth apostolic trip yesterday. The Holy Father arrived in the Jose Marti airport in Havana at 4 p.m. local time (10 p.m. in Italy) after a twelve-hour flight, and was welcomed by the president of Cuba, Raul Castro, and by the cardinal archbishop of Havana, Jaime Ortega y Alamino, accompanied by Archbishop Dionisio Guillermo Garcia Ibanez, president of the Episcopal Conference.

After the protocol greetings and national anthems of Cuba and Vatican City State, President Castro gave a welcome address on behalf of the government and people of Cuba. The Pope thanked the president and asked him to convey sentiments of particular respect and consideration to his brother Fidel. “I would like my greeting to embrace especially all those who, for various reasons, I will not be able to meet, and to Cubans throughout the world”, continued Francis.

After remarking that 2015 marks the eightieth anniversary of the establishment of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cuba and the Holy See, the Pope affirmed that his arrival in this “beloved nation” follows “the indelible path opened by the unforgettable apostolic journeys which my two predecessors, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, made to this island. I know that the memory of those visits awakens gratitude and affection in the people and leaders of Cuba. Today we renew those bonds of cooperation and friendship, so that the Church can continue to support and encourage the Cuban people in its hopes and concerns, with the freedom, the means and the space needed to bring the proclamation of the Kingdom to the existential peripheries of society”.

This Apostolic Journey also coincides with the first centenary of Pope Benedict XV’s declaration of our Lady of Charity of El Cobre as Patroness of Cuba, and Francis commented that it was the veterans of the War of Independence who, moved by sentiments of faith and patriotism, wanted the Virgen mambisa to be the patroness of Cuba as a free and sovereign nation. “Since that time she has accompanied the history of the Cuban people”, he said, “sustaining the hope which preserves people’s dignity in the most difficult situations and championing the promotion of all that gives dignity to the human person. The growing devotion to the Virgin is a visible testimony of her presence in the soul of the Cuban people. In these days I will have occasion to go to El Cobre, as a son and pilgrim, to pray to our Mother for all her Cuban children and for this beloved nation, that it may travel the paths of justice, peace, liberty and reconciliation”.

“Geographically, Cuba is an archipelago, facing all directions, with an extraordinary value as a 'key' between north and south, east and west. Its natural vocation is to be a point of encounter for all peoples to join in friendship, as Jose Marti dreamed, 'regardless of the languages of isthmuses and the barriers of oceans'. Such was also the desire of St. John Paul II, with his ardent appeal: 'May Cuba, with all its magnificent potential, open itself to the world, and may the world open itself to Cuba'”.

“For some months now, we have witnessed an event which fills us with hope: the process of normalising relations between two peoples following years of estrangement. It is a sign of the victory of the culture of encounter and dialogue, 'the system of universal growth' over 'the forever-dead system of groups and dynasties'. I urge political leaders to persevere on this path and to develop all its potentialities as a proof of the high service which they are called to carry out on behalf of the peace and well-being of their peoples, of all America, and as an example of reconciliation for the entire world. The world needs reconciliation, in this climate of a piecemeal third world war in which we are living”.

The Pope concluded his first discourse on Cuban soil by invoking “the protection of our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Blessed Olallo Valdes and Blessed Jose Lopez Piteira, and Venerable Felix Varela, the great promoter of love between Cubans and all peoples, so that our bonds of peace, solidarity and mutual respect may ever increase”.

Mass in Plaza de la Revolucion: the importance of a people is based on how it serves its most vulnerable members

Vatican City, 20 September 2015 (VIS) – After spending the night in the apostolic nunciature in Havana, the Pope began his second day in Cuba by greeting the thousands of people who lined the streets on his journey by popemobile to Plaza de la Revolucion Jose Marti, dedicated to the poet and writer who fought for Cuban independence. The square, where the Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass attended by more than 200,000 faithful, is a strongly symbolic location for the island, and has provided the backdrop to important demonstrations.

Francis, who before the Eucharistic celebration met with the representatives of other Christian confessions present in Cuba in a provisional sacristy, devoted his homily to the importance of serving the weakest and frailest among us. “Let us not forget the Good News we have heard today: the importance of a people, a nation, and the importance of individuals, which is always based on how they seek to serve their vulnerable brothers and sisters. Here we encounter one of the fruits of a true humanity. Whoever does not live to serve, does not ‘serve’ to live”.

The Pope commented on the Gospel passage in which Jesus asks a seemingly indiscreet question of His disciples: “What were you discussing along the way?” to which they did not answer because on the way they had been arguing about who was the most important, and were ashamed.

“Who is the most important?”, continued the Pope. “This is a life-long question to which, at different times, we must give an answer. ... The history of humanity has been marked by the answer we give to this question. Jesus is not afraid of people’s questions; He is not afraid of our humanity or the different things we are looking for. On the contrary, He knows the 'twists and turns' of the human heart, and, as a good teacher, He is always ready to encourage and support us. As usual, He takes up our searching, our aspirations, and he gives them a new horizon … He somehow finds an the answer which can pose a new challenge, setting aside the 'right answers', the standard replies we are expected to give. As usual, Jesus sets before us the 'logic' of love. A mindset, an approach to life, which is capable of being lived out by all, because it is meant for all”.

“Far from any kind of elitism, the horizon to which Jesus points us is not for those few privileged souls capable of attaining the heights of knowledge or different levels of spirituality. The horizon to which Jesus points us always has to do with daily life, also here on “our island”, something which can season our daily lives with eternity. Who is the most important? Jesus is straightforward in His reply: 'Whoever wishes to be the first among you must be the last of all, and the servant of all'. Whatever wishes to be great must serve others, not be served by others”.

“Here lies the great paradox of Jesus”, emphasises the Pope. “The disciples were arguing about who would have the highest place, who would be chosen for privileges ... in order to stand out in the quest for superiority over others. Who would climb the ladder most quickly to take the jobs which carry certain benefits. Jesus upsets their 'logic', their mindset, simply by telling them that life is lived authentically in a concrete commitment to our neighbour. That is, in serving”.

But the call to serve “involves something special, to which we must be attentive. Serving others chiefly means caring for their vulnerability. Serving means caring for the vulnerable of our families, our society, our people. Theirs are the suffering, fragile and downcast faces which Jesus tells us specifically to look at and which He asks us to love. With a love which takes shape in our actions and decisions. With a love which finds expression in whatever tasks we, as citizens, are called to perform. People of flesh and blood, people with individual lives and stories, and with all their frailty: these are those whom Jesus asks us to protect, to care for, to serve. Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it. That is why Christians are constantly called to set aside their own wishes and desires, their pursuit of power, and to look instead to those who are most vulnerable”.

“There is a kind of 'service' which truly 'serves' others, yet we need to be careful not to be tempted by another kind of service, a 'service' which is 'self-serving'. There is a way to go about serving which is interested in only helping 'my people', 'our people'. This service always leaves 'your people' outside, and gives rise to a process of exclusion. All of us are called by virtue of our Christian vocation to that service which truly serves, and to help one another not to be tempted by a 'service' which is really 'self-serving'. … Without looking to one side or the other to see what our neighbour is doing or not doing. Jesus tells us: Whoever would be first among you must be the last, and the servant of all. He will be the servant of all. He does not say: if your neighbour wants to be first, let him be the servant! We have to be careful to avoid judgemental looks and renew our belief in the transforming look to which Jesus invites us. This caring for others out of love is not about being servile. Rather, it means putting our brothers and sisters at the centre. Service always looks to their faces, touches their flesh, senses their closeness and even, in some cases, 'suffers' in trying to help. Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people”.

“God’s holy and faithful people in Cuba is a people with a taste for celebration, for friendship, for beautiful things”, he concluded. “It is a people which marches with songs of praise. It is a people which has its wounds, like every other people, yet knows how to stand up with open arms, to keep walking in hope, because it has a vocation of grandeur. This is how it raised its heroes. Today I ask you to care for this vocation of yours, to care for these gifts which God has given you, but above all I invite you to care for and be at the service of the frailty of your brothers and sisters. Do not neglect them for plans which can be seductive, but are unconcerned about the face of the person beside you. We know, we are witnesses of the incomparable power of the resurrection, which 'everywhere calls forth the seeds of a new world'”.

Angelus: Francis asks for definitive reconciliation in Colombia

Vatican City, 20 September 2015 (VIS) – At the end of Mass, the Pope spoke for a few minutes before praying the Angelus.

“We have heard in the Gospel how the disciples were afraid to question Jesus when He spoke to them about His passion and death. He frightened them, and they could not grasp the idea of seeing Jesus suffer on the cross. We too are tempted to flee from our own crosses and those of others, to withdraw from those who suffer. In concluding this Holy Mass, in which Jesus has once more given Himself to us in His body and blood, let us now lift our gaze to the Virgin Mary, our Mother. We ask her to teach us to stand beside the cross of our brothers and sisters who suffer. To learn to see Jesus in every person bent low on the path of life, in all our brothers and sisters who hunger or thirst, who are naked or in prison or sick. With Mary our Mother, on the cross we can see who is truly “the greatest” and what it means to stand beside the Lord and to share in His glory.

“Let us learn from Mary to keep our hearts awake and attentive to the needs of others. As the wedding feast of Cana teaches us, let us be concerned for the little details of life, and let us not tire of praying for one another, so that no one will lack the new wine of love, the joy which Jesus brings us.

At this time I feel bound to direct my thoughts to the beloved land of Colombia, 'conscious of the crucial importance of the present moment when, with renewed effort and inspired by hope, its sons and daughters are seeking to build a peaceful society'. May the blood shed by thousands of innocent people during long decades of armed conflict, united to that of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, sustain all the efforts being made, including those on this beautiful island, to achieve definitive reconciliation. Thus may the long night of pain and violence, with the support of all Colombians, become an unending day of concord, justice, fraternity and love, in respect for institutions and for national and international law, so that there may be lasting peace. Please, we do not have the right to allow ourselves yet another failure on this path of peace and reconciliation. Thank you, Mr. President, for all you have done in this work towards reconciliation”.

“I ask you now that we join together in praying to Mary, that we may place all our concerns and hopes before the heart of Christ. We pray to her in a special way for those who have lost hope and find no reasons to keep fighting, and for those who suffer from injustice, abandonment and loneliness. We pray for the elderly, the infirm, children and young people, for all families experiencing difficulty, that Mary may dry their tears, comfort them with a mother’s love, and restore their hope and joy. Holy Mother, I commend to you these your sons and daughters in Cuba. May you never abandon them!”.

Meeting with President Raul Castro and with Commander Fidel in the Palace of the Revolution

Vatican City, 20 September 2015 (VIS) – Following Holy Mass, and after lunch in the apostolic nunciature, the Pope transferred by car to the Palace of the Revolution to pay a courtesy visit to the President of the Council of State of Cuba, Raul Castro, elected in 2008 after his brother Fidel Castro stood down for reasons of ill health. Although this did not form part of the official programme for the visit, the Holy Father also met with “Commander” Fidel.

“The meeting was foreseeable, although it did not form part of the programme”, explained Fr. Lombardi. “We all knew that Commander Fidel wanted to see the Pope, as he did with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit. Commander Fidel, who is an elderly man, is spending this phase of his life in study and reflection: he reads a lot and enjoys conversing with people with great experience. This is explicitly how it was with Pope Benedict XVI, and also with Pope Francis”.

“Fidel had asked Pope Benedict to send some books that could be useful for his reflections, and Francis followed on from this by taking, on his own initiative, two books by the Italian priest Alessandro Pronzato, known to many as a prolific author of spiritual and catechetic texts. He also took a book and two CDs by Fr. Armando Llorente, a Jesuit priest who died a few years ago, who was close to Castro as a child when he attended the Jesuit school at the Colegio de Belen. The memorial of this relationship with a teacher who profoundly affected his life during his youth was a very meaningful gesture on the part of the Pope”.

“The Holy Father also took his two great texts, 'Evangelii Gaudium' and 'Laudato si''. This latter focuses on themes of interest to Castro also in this stage of his life – the great questions of the current world and its future. It is certainly a document he will find most interesting. Commander Castro gave the Pope a very well-known book, 'Fidel y la Religion' by Frei Betto, which takes the form of a conversation with Frei Betto. It was a very informal encounter, a serene exchange in the presence of various members of his family, and certainly a positive moment”.