Diaz-Canel in Vatican for meeting with Pope Francis

HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 20 (ACN)Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez held a private audience with Pope Francis, Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, the Foreign Ministry of the Caribbean nation reported on Facebook.

On Twitter, the Cuban Presidency reported the arrival of the president to the Holy See, a visit that takes place as part of his European tour, as part of the private visit made by the Cuban president to the #Vatican, his first as President of #Cuba," the source stated.

That account shows photos and videos of that visit, and recalls that "relevant in the history of these relations (between Cuba and the Vatican City State) are the visits of the last Cuban presidents , as well as the apostolic visits to #Cuba of the Popes, being the Island one of the Latin American countries visited by the last three Pontiffs."

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Pope Francis confirmed the positive state of relations between the Caribbean nation and the Holy See and recalled the historic visit to Cuba of St. John Paul II in 1998, on its 25th anniversary, and addressed the situation of the Caribbean country and the contribution of the Church, particularly in the field of charity.

Cuban president arrived in Rome on Monday, in the first part of his trip, which also includes the Vatican City State, Serbia, and the participation in an international financial conference in Paris, France.

Today, the Cuban head of state will also be received by his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, and by the director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu.

The delegation also includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, deputy ministers and other officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Cuban leader's European tour also includes an official program in Serbia and his participation, in his capacity as Chairman of the Group of 77 plus China, in the "Summit for a new Global Financial Pact" to be held in Paris, France.