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March 29, 2012. (Romereports.com)
Benedict XVI and Fidel Castro spoke together in a half hour meeting
with only this photo being released. In that time, they discussed world
issues, the new liturgies of the Church, and “the problems of humanity,”
according to a Vatican spokesperson.Fidel reportedly asked the pope how he was handling his responsibilities
along with his age. The pope then replied that he may be old but he is
still able to perform his duties.
For the meeting with Benedic ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 28, 2012. (Romereports.com) The
meeting between John Paul II and Fidel Castro back in 1998 was indeed
historic. But few know that it wasn't their first meeting. Two
years before, John Paul II received Castro at the Vatican, where they
held a private audience. It was actually the first time a Cuban
president met with a Pope. It was 1996, and Fidel Castro was visiting Rome to attend a conference
at Rome's United Nations branch: The Food and Agriculture Organization.
During that visit, both a ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 28, 2012. (Romereports.com) A
rain storm interrupted the pope's farewell in Havana, Cuba, forcing the
ceremony to be held inside the José Martí International Airport. There,
Benedict XVI gave his final address to the Cuban people.Raul
Castro and other government officials were present and thanked him for
visiting the island. The pope called on Cubans to renew efforts to build
a better society. He noted that problems must be solved with “patient
and sincere dialogue, mutual understandin ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 29, 2012. (Romereports.com) (-ONLY VIDEO-) Benedict XVI departed Cuba with the Spanish saying “hasta siempre,” on his second trip to Latin America and his first to Cuba.FULL TEXT:Mr President,
Your Eminences, my Brother Bishops,
Distinguished Authorities,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
I thank God for allowing me to visit this beautiful Isle which left so
deep a mark on the heart of my beloved predecessor, Blessed John Paul
II, when he came to these lands as a herald of truth and ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 28, 2012. (Romereports.com)
The Pope was greeted by thousands of Cubans in Havana's Revolution
Square, where Benedict XVI celebrated the last Mass of his apostolic
visit. As the Pope made his way to the Plaza, a Cuban choir welcomed
him. The singers wore purple, a color that represents Lent. Cuban
bishops also greeted Benedict XVI as he made his way to the altar.During his Homily, the Pope said that the need for truth is a natural human desire. A desire, that goes hand in hand with authentic fre ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 28, 2012. (Romereports.com)(-ONLY VIDEO-) Thousands
of Cubans welcomed the Pope as he celebrated Mass in Havana's
Revolution Plaza. Cuban president, Raul Castro attended the Mass, where
Benedict XVI urged leaders of the communist government to grant
religious freedoms to the Church and its followers. SEE FULL TEXT: Dear Brothers and Sisters,“Blessed
are you, Lord God…, and blessed is your holy and glorious name" (Dan
3:52). This hymn of blessing from the ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 28, 2012. (Romereports.com)
After weeks of speculation, Cuba's former president, Fidel Castro, has
officially said he will indeed meet with Benedict XVI. The statement was
published Tuesday in Cuba's government run newspaper. At the end of an
opinion piece, Castro says “I will happily greet His Excellency,
Pope Benedict XVI as I did John Paul II, a man for whom contact with
children and the humble generated feelings of affection.”The former president, then went on to say, “Th ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 28, 2012. (Romereports.com) The Pope has reportedly asked Cuban president Raul Castro, to declare Good Friday, a national holiday in Cuba.
During the second day of his apostolic visit, Benedict XVI met with
president Raul Castro at Havana's Revolution Palace. According to the
Vatican's spokesman, Federico Lombardi, it was on that very day, that
the Pope issued the request to the president. When John Paul II visited the country back in 1998, then president, Fidel Castro, declared Christmas a ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 27, 2012. (Romereports.com) (-ONLY VIDEO-) Benedict XVI traveled to Havana's Revolutionary Palace to meet privately with the Cuban president, Raul Castro.After
their visit, the family of Raul Castro also greeted the pope. Raul
Castro gave the pope a statue of Cuba's patron Our Lady of Charity,
while Benedict XVI in turn gave a replica of a codex. ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 27, 2012. (Romereports.com) During his second day in Cuba, the Pope visited the Sanctuary that honors Our Lady of Charity,
the patroness of Cuba. The Pope noted the deep devotion Cubans have
for her, by saying that he too, has specifically prayed to her, and for those who suffer.Benedict XVI“I
have also prayed to the Virgin for the needs of those who suffer, of
those who are deprived of freedom, those who are separated from their
loved ones or who are undergoing times of difficulty.& ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 27, 2012. (Romereports.com) For 18 years, Archbishop Piero Marini served as master of ceremonies for John Paul II. It was a job that meant being with the pope through celebrations of Mass and following him on his travels around the world. “When John Paul II would travel he was a very calm pope, I never saw him agitated or angry.” Said Msgr. Piero Marini.Perhaps one of the Pope's most memorable trips was when he visited the island of Cuba. There with him was Piero Marini, who says it was ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 27, 2012. (Romereports.com) The Plaza of Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba was decorated for the
first Mass that Benedict XVI celebrated on the Caribbean island. Some
250,000 people attended in honor of 400th anniversary of Our Lady of
Charity, among them was Cuba's president Raul Castro.
Benedict XVI“This first Holy Mass which
I have the joy of celebrating during my pastoral visit to this country,
takes place in the context of the Marian Jubilee Year called to honor
and to venerate Our ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 27, 2012. (Romereports.com) (-ONLY VIDEO-)
During the Mass in honor of the patroness of Cuba, Our Lady of Charity,
Benedict XVI said he was “full of excitement knowing the fervor that
Cubans had for the Virgin”.FULL TEXT:Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I give thanks to God who has allowed me to come to you and to make this
much anticipated trip. I greet Bishop Dionisio García Ibáñez, Archbishop
of Santiago de Cuba, and I thank him for his warm words of welcome
offered on behalf ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 26, 2012. (Romereports.com)
Benedict XVI arrived in Cuba in the second part of his trip to Latin
America. At the airport in Santiago de Cuba, President Raul Castro met
with the pope.During his speech, the president of Cuba condemned
the U.S. embargo, saying it was only meant to bring “hunger,
desperation and the overthrow of the island”. Raul Castro highlighted
the good relations shared between his country and the Holy See. He also
noted that the citizens of Cuban are “a pe ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 26, 2012. (Romereports.com) (-ONLY VIDEO-)
Benedict XVI made his first speech in Cuba at the airport of Santiago
de Cuba. This is the 23rd international trip of his pontificate, but his
first to Cuba. John Paul II visited the island in 1998. COMPLETE TEXT:Mr President,Dear Cardinals and Brother Bishops,Distinguished Authorities,Members of the Diplomatic Corps,Ladies and Gentlemen,Dear People of Cuba,Thank
you, Mr President, for your welcome and your kind words, with which you
also conveyed the s ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 26, 2012. (Romereports.com) (-ONLY VIDEO-)
Benedict XVI was received with military honors in Cuba by President
Raul Castro at the airport in Santiago de Cuba. There was a 21-gun
salute in honor of his first papal visit to Cuba.Some local children welcomed him to the island and gave him flowers. ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 26, 2012. (Romereports.com) Since the moment the Pope left Leon's Miraflores College where he was staying, the music and cheers were hard to miss. He was then transferred by helicopter to Guanajuato's airport, where again he was greeted by thousands of people. The Pope thanked Mexico for its hospitality and asked its people to combine their strong faith with hope. Benedict XVI“I
beg the Lord that all these efforts may not be in vain, and that with
his help, they may produce abundant and l ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 26, 2012 (Romereports) (-ONLY VIDEO-) After a three day apostolic visit, the Pope has said 'farewell' to Mexico. He
was greeted by thousands of people in Guanajuato's airport, where he
called on Mexicans to not be intimidated by the powers of evil. READ FULL TEXT: Mr President,Distinguished Authorities,Your Eminences,Dear Brother Bishops,Dear Mexican friends,“My
brief but intense visit to Mexico is now coming to an end. Yet this is
not the end of my affection and my closeness t ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 26, 2012. (Romereports.com) During his visit to Mexico, the Pope prayed the Vespers in the Cathedral of Leon. There, the Pope called on all Latin American bishops to make the Church a 'seed of hope'. “There is no reason, then, to give in to the despotism of evil," said Benedict XVI. "Let us instead ask the risen Lord to manifest his power in our weakness and need.”The Pope also called for unity and respect within the Church. He said the lay faithful who help with catechesis, liturgic ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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March 25, 2012. (Romereports.com) The Pope celebrated his first Mass in Mexico at Guanajuato's Bicentennial Park. READ FULL TEXT: Brothers and Sisters, “I
am very pleased to be among you today and I express my sincere
gratitude to the Most Reverend José Guadalupe Martín Rábago, Archbishop
of León, for his kind words of welcome. I greet the Mexican Bishops, and
the Cardinals and other Bishops present here, and in a special way
those who have come from Latin America and the Caribbean. I also exten ROMEREPORTS.COM (View | Pope in Mexico & Cuba) |
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