Pope Francis received President Miguel Díaz-Canel this Tuesday in what constitutes the Pontiff’s first audience in the Vatican after undergoing surgery. The meeting lasted about 40 minutes.
Díaz-Canel, accompanied by his wife, Lis Cuesta, arrived at 9:50 local time (7:50 GMT) and was received in the office adjacent to the Paul VI classroom, where major events are held in the Vatican.
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Francis received the Cuban president and his companions with an affectionate: “I love seeing you here, I love that you have come,” while the president thanked the pontiff for the effort of this audience a few days after leaving the hospital.
The meeting
“I’m delighted to see you recovered. Thank you very much for arranging this meeting,” Díaz-Canel said, to which the Pope replied: “Well, halfway there, because I still have the stitches,” referring to the abdominal hernia surgery from which he was discharged last Friday.
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The president introduced him to his wife and also introduced him to his son Miguel Díaz-Canel Villanueva, who was part of the delegation and about whom he explained he had studied law and that he worked with him, as well as being the opposition in the family” because he is the one “who criticizes the most,” according to an EFE quote.
During the traditional exchange of gifts, Francis presented him with a bronze work of art depicting a dove carrying an olive branch, inscribed “Be messengers of peace,” in addition to this year’s Message for Peace, the document on human brotherhood and the book on the Statio Orbis of March 27, 2020.
For his part, Díaz-Canel gave the pope a sculpture in silver, bronze and wood, entitled “El Lector,” and two volumes of Cuban poets: “Las miradas perdidas” by Fina García Marruz and “La Luz del imposible” by Cintio Vitier, saying they were representatives of “the best of the Cuban intelligentsia at that time” and that “they are two books of beautiful poems and they are books of values.”
Upon receiving the medal minted for the tenth anniversary of the pontificate, the president stressed that “we are seeing each other exactly on the tenth anniversary of your ascension to the Pontifical throne” and Francis joked about his election as pontiff: “They caught me off guard.”
“We know you have made an effort and we thank you very much and we will always keep you in our hearts,” concluded Díaz-Canel, who later went to the State Department for his meeting with Pietro Parolin.
Meeting with Cardinal Parolin
After the exchange with Francis, the Cuban president met Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the State Department. The Vatican will report on the meeting and the topics discussed at a later date.
For the moment it has been known that “the importance of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Cuba was discussed, evoking the historic visit of Saint John Paul II in 1998, which marks the 25th anniversary,” according to EFE.
“Next, they discussed the situation in the country and the contribution that the Church offers, especially in the field of charity” and “they touched on some international issues of mutual interest and stressed the importance of maintaining the commitment to always promote the common good,” the Spanish news agency quoted.
While these meetings were taking place a few meters from the Vatican, a dozen Cuban demonstrators living in Italy protested against the Pope’s reception of the Cuban president.
Third visit by a Cuban president
This is the fourth contact between Díaz-Canel and Francis, according to some media.
The first was in March 2013, when as First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers he attended his enthronement as Pope; then in September 2015, on the occasion of Francis’ visit to Cuba; and in February 2016, during the meeting between the Supreme Pontiff and the Patriarch of Moscow, Cyril, in Havana.
Furthermore, it is the third visit of a Cuban president to the Holy See. In November 1996 Fidel Castro was received by John Paul II, and in May 2015 Francis received Raúl Castro.
Díaz-Canel arrived in Rome this Monday and the Cuban delegation is also made up of Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, several deputy foreign ministers, and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Ana Teresita González Fraga, among other officials.
