By Rosa Miriam Elizalde on April 24, 2025
Pope Francis
I had the privilege of accompanying the papal flight to Cuba and the United States in September 2015. As the only journalist from the country being visited, I was granted the first question at the traditional press conference on board the plane. It was there, in mid-flight between Santiago de Cuba and Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, that for the first time a pope called the blockade by its name, without resorting to the euphemism “embargo,” breaking decades of silence from the local curia. “My wish is that relations between Cuba and the United States come to a successful conclusion,” Francis added at the time.
Francis’ Cuban saga began in March 2014, when he wrote personal letters to Barack Obama and Raúl Castro. He offered the Vatican as neutral ground for discreet dialogue, which took place sometimes in public and sometimes in absolute confidentiality. He did so without fanfare or press releases, as is usually the case with efforts that pursue truly momentous goals.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s diplomatic work was not limited to the island: that alliance, sealed on March 27, 2014, in a private meeting of almost an hour between Obama and Francis, covered issues as diverse as the closure of the Guantanamo prison, immigration reform, the situation in Venezuela, collaboration against jihadist terrorism, and conflicts in the Middle East. All that transpired from that meeting was the rapport between the two leaders and a phrase that summed up Obama’s respect: “Yours is a voice that the world must listen to.” Meanwhile, in their offices, their secretaries of state—John Kerry and Pietro Parolin—worked side by side to defuse the main sources of global tension. Starting with Cuba.
It was only in December of that year, when a president in Washington and another in Havana—just two minutes apart—publicly thanked Pope Francis for his mediation in the restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, that the Vatican issued an official statement. In it, the Secretariat of State confirmed that “in recent months,” the Pope had written to both leaders “inviting them to resolve humanitarian issues of common interest.” In May 2015, Francis offered a warm welcome to then-President Raúl Castro at the Vatican.
In September of that year, before the US Congress and after visiting three Cuban provinces, Francis advocated bilateral understandings “as a sign of progress in coexistence,” and although he avoided directly mentioning the blockade, he reaffirmed the Holy See’s historic position: firm opposition not only to the embargo imposed on Cuba, but to all sanctions that punish peoples.
During his visit to the White House, the speech was more explicit. There, in an exchange laden with symbolism, Obama left one of his most lucid and hopeful statements on the sanctions against the island, inspired by the moment: “Holy Father, we are grateful for your invaluable support for our new beginning with the Cuban people, which offers the promise of better relations between our countries, greater cooperation throughout the continent, and a better life for the Cuban people.”
Francis responded with gratitude and conviction: “The efforts made recently to repair broken relations and open new doors for cooperation within our human family are positive steps on the path of reconciliation, justice, and freedom.”
I noticed that every time either leader referred to the restoration of relations with Cuba, the ceremony attendees—mostly Latin American immigrants—erupted in applause. And amid the cheers, an electrifying cry was heard several times: “Cuba, Cuba!” The small blockaded island had lived to hear its name spoken with respect and hope in the very gardens of the White House.
It would not be Francis’ only gesture toward the island. He warmly welcomed President Miguel Díaz-Canel to the Vatican in June 2023. And last January, Joe Biden’s announcement that he was removing Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism (which Trump reversed in the blink of an eye), coinciding with Cuba’s decision to release prisoners, highlighted another long and silent diplomatic effort by the Holy See.
Unfortunately, the mood in Washington is more hostile than ever, and Francis died on Monday, April 21, to the dismay of millions. He will be missed. Bergoglio fulfilled the promise he made at the mass that marked the beginning of his pontificate: he wanted to be a bishop of Rome who would care for “the poorest, the weakest, those who are hungry, thirsty, foreign, sick or in prison.” Without such a vocation, it would be impossible to understand what he did for Cuba.
Source: La Jornada, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English