Pope Francis on a 4-day Visit to Cuba Saturday Sep 19,2015

 

Havana and other Cuban cities are being spruced up ahead of the visit of Pope Francis on Saturday Sep 19,2015

Streets are being newly paved in Havana and the cathedral is being renovated.

On the city's iconic Revolution Square, where Pope Francis will celebrate a Mass on Sunday Sep 20,2015, workers have been building a huge altar and stands for the congregation and choir.

Pope Francis will spend four days in Cuba before flying to the US, on his first visits to both countries.

Pope Francis's forthcoming 9-day visit to Cuba and USA, which starts on Saturday Sep 19,2015, will be his 10th and longest trip abroad yet

Pope Francis arrives at Havana's international airport on September 19, 2015

Cubans wait for the passage of Pope Francis in Havana on September 19, 2015

 

With his arrival in Havana, where he was greeted by President Raul Castro, he became the third pontiff to visit Cuba in the past 17 years — a remarkable record for any country, much less one with a small community of practicing Catholics.

This is the third papal visit to Cuba since 1998, when Pope John Paul the Second came to the island, followed by Pope Benedict in 2012.

Pope Francis (C-L) is welcomed by Cuban President Raul Castro (C-R) upon landing at Havana's international airport on September 19, 2015

 

 

Pope Francis hailed detente between the United States and Cuba as a model of reconciliation for the world, urging Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro to persevere in building normal ties as the pontiff launched a 10-day tour of the former Cold War foes Saturday Sep 19,2015

After being greeted at the airport by Raul Castro, Francis was due to rest for the remainder of the day ahead of his first big Mass on Sunday in Havana's Revolution Square 

Pope Francis's foreign visits:

Brazil (22 to 29 July 2013)
Israel, Jordan and Palestinian territories (May 2014)
South Korea (August 2014)
Albania (September 2014)
France (November 2014)
Turkey (November 2014)
Sri Lanka and Philippines (January 2015)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (June 2015)
Bolivia, Ecuador and Paraguay (July 2015)
Cuba and US (September 2015)


Pope Francis is due to make 26 speeches - 8 of them in Cuba and 18 in the US

The majority of his speeches will be in Spanish, a tongue in which he is particularly prone to making off-the-cuff remarks, rather than in his more halting English, although that is the language he will use to make his addresses at the White House and Congress and his prayer at the 9/11 memorial.