Cuba invites Pope Leo XIV: its ambassador to the Holy See on the embargo and the humanitarian crisis
Leyde Ernesto Rodríguez Hernández to Avvenire: "Leo XIV has been invited to Cuba". No trip has been announced. At the UN, the debate on the US embargo is scheduled for 27 and 28 October, with the vote to follow
Cuba has invited Pope Leo XIV to visit the island. Cuba's ambassador to the Holy See, Leyde Ernesto Rodríguez Hernández, said so at a meeting with the Italian press reported today by the Catholic daily Avvenire: "Leo XIV has been invited to Cuba." He added: "The Cuban people are ready to welcome Pope Leo with the warmth and enthusiasm that characterise them" (quotes from the Italian, our translation). No trip has been announced by the Holy See.
Three Popes on the island. If the invitation were accepted, Pope Leo XIV would follow his three immediate predecessors. Pope John Paul II made his apostolic journey to Cuba from 21 to 26 January 1998. Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Santiago de Cuba on 26 March 2012 and left from Havana on the 28th, on a journey that had first taken him to Mexico. Pope Francis visited Cuba in September 2015, before the United States and the UN headquarters. The ambassador also recalled a phrase of Pope John Paul II, "May Cuba open itself to the world and may the world open itself to Cuba": "words that are more relevant than ever," he said, "in the face of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States on our country."
The humanitarian crisis. According to the ambassador, the island is caught in a "total siege" that "translates into a serious shortage of food, medicine and fuel for transport". US sanctions, he said, also hold up aid: containers from the Order of Malta, and shipments from the Community of Sant'Egidio and the association "Semi di pace". "There are 7,000 containers stuck. It all falls on the population and on the most vulnerable, such as children and the sick." And on oil tankers: "Only one has docked since the start of the year, compared with ninety." These figures come from the ambassador and we have not been able to verify them independently.
The Holy See and the embargo. Rodríguez Hernández thanked the Holy See for condemning the blockade, which in his words it "has always called ethically unacceptable", and cited the address by Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, to the UN General Assembly a few weeks ago: according to the ambassador, Parolin expressed concern for "the beloved Cuban people" and called for a "respectful and fruitful" dialogue between the United States and Cuba. He also thanked the Pope "for his continuous appeals for peace. A peace that our country needs more than ever."
At the UN. The United Nations debate on the US embargo is scheduled for 27 and 28 October; the vote will follow. The ambassador said he was confident the position favourable to Havana would prevail.
What we don't know. We found no comment from the Holy See on the invitation and no announcement of a trip to Cuba. The words attributed to Parolin are as reported by the ambassador: we will check them against the official text of the address.
Our flash from today:
vaticanreport.com/flash/ef4058dc-e336-453e-862c-c0a980ab62dc?lang=en
Sources: Avvenire, 23 October 2026 (Giacomo Gambassi, Italian) · Apostolic Journey of Pope John Paul II to Cuba, 1998 (vatican.va) · Apostolic Journey of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and Cuba, 2012 (vatican.va) · Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis to Cuba, the United States and the UN, 2015 (vatican.va)
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Source: Avvenire