Cardinal Stella meets Raul Castro in Havana

(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Beniamino Stella, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, has met with the President of Cuba, Raul Castro. 

A statement released on Tuesday called the encounter “cordial”, and said the two men on Monday discussed the upcoming September visit to the island nation by Pope Francis. Cardinal Stella arrived on the island for a week-long visit last Wednesday. 

He had served as Apostolic Nuncio to Cuba from 1993-1999. His arrival coincided with the official announcement of the visit by Pope Francis, who will stop in the country before his previously scheduled visit to the United States.

In remarks last week to the EFE news service, Cardinal Stella said he was “confident” the papal visit will help improve the relationship between Cuba and the United States. 

Pope Francis will be the third pope to visit Cuba. Pope John Paul II was the first Pope to visit the island, in 1998; and Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2012.