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Pope Francis meets with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro
Pope Francis met with Fidel Castro on Sunday at the 89-year-old Cuban revolutionary leader's home in Havana, said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi.
The two chatted for around 30 or 40 minutes in "a very informal and friendly environment" along with Castro's wife, children and grandchildren and a small delegation from the Vatican, Lombardi said.
Francis gave the former Cuban leader four books, including two on theology.
Castro reciprocated with a dedicated copy of Brazilian priest Frei Betto's book of interviews with him, "Fidel and Religion," which he signed: "With admiration and respect from the Cuban people."
Francis was also due to meet Castro's brother Raul, who took the reins in Cuba when Fidel stepped down amid a health crisis in 2006.
Fidel Castro had previously met pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1996 and on three occasions when he visited Cuba in 1998.
He also met pope Benedict XVI when he visited Cuba in 2012.
After decades of hostility between Castro's communist regime and the Catholic Church, relations have slowly improved since the mid-1980s, with John Paul II's historic visit playing a key role. - Agence France-Presse
The two chatted for around 30 or 40 minutes in "a very informal and friendly environment" along with Castro's wife, children and grandchildren and a small delegation from the Vatican, Lombardi said.
Francis gave the former Cuban leader four books, including two on theology.
Castro reciprocated with a dedicated copy of Brazilian priest Frei Betto's book of interviews with him, "Fidel and Religion," which he signed: "With admiration and respect from the Cuban people."
Francis was also due to meet Castro's brother Raul, who took the reins in Cuba when Fidel stepped down amid a health crisis in 2006.
Fidel Castro had previously met pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1996 and on three occasions when he visited Cuba in 1998.
He also met pope Benedict XVI when he visited Cuba in 2012.
After decades of hostility between Castro's communist regime and the Catholic Church, relations have slowly improved since the mid-1980s, with John Paul II's historic visit playing a key role. - Agence France-Presse
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