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| Pope Francis arrives for Cuba visit before US tour – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 9.05pm BST21:05 | |
| Raul Castro, the president of Cuba, and Cardinal Ortega, the archbishop of Havana, are on the tarmac waiting for Pope Francis to disembark. | |
| Raúl Castro y el cardenal Ortega listos para recibir al #PapaenCuba pic.twitter.com/jbfJX70w4j | |
| 9.02pm BST21:02 | |
| A close-up picture of the flags flying from the cockpit of the papal Alitalia plane. | |
| third visit of a #pope to #cuba. #popefrancis touches down in #havana pic.twitter.com/wIXz5l7Ie8 | |
| 9.00pm BST21:00 | |
| Professor Greg Weeks is chair of the department of political science and public administration at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and is also the editor of the academic journal The Latin Americanist. | |
| In a blog post on Friday, he mulled the likely political effects of the papal visit on Cuba. | |
| There is change going on in Cuba but it’s very slow. There is really nothing the Pope could do to speed it up. He could be frank in his message (which we may well do) and that won’t speed things up. He could meet with dissidents (which as I understand he won’t) and it wouldn’t speed things up, though that would provide at least a symbolic boost to the opposition. Therefore it’s extremely unlikely that there will be a concrete result that people are hoping to see. | |
| You can read the whole post here. | |
| 8.58pm BST20:58 | |
| At the airport in Havana, crowds wave flags to welcome Pope Francis as the plane taxis from the runway. | |
| Crowds at Havana airport waving Cuban and Vatican flags as they await @Pontifex to come greet them. pic.twitter.com/zlXtYDtAef | |
| From the window of the cockpit, the papal plane is flying a Vatican flag as well as the flag of Cuba. | |
| 8.56pm BST20:56 | |
| This is the papal plane coming in to land. The flight took around eight hours, per reports. | |
| Atterrato #ElPapaEnCuba pic.twitter.com/F4PYNq5d3Q | |
| 8.52pm BST20:52 | |
| Pope Francis has landed in Havana. | |
| There were loud cheers from the crowds as the plane touched down, reports CNN. | |
| 8.51pm BST20:51 | |
| In California, San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy and other faith leaders will be launching “40 Days of Faithful Action” on Sunday with an interfaith event at the US-Mexico border, reports Agence France-Presse. | |
| To spotlight the plight of separated immigrant families, they will unveil a so-called Wall of Lament between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. Organizers say they are acting on the pope’s “message of compassion, respect for human dignity and love all of God’s creation.” | |
| They have also planned events in support of Francis’s trip to a Philadelphia jail. | |
| 8.48pm BST20:48 | |
| Above Revolutionary Square, for what is reportedly the first time, a vast picture of Jesus has been hung in honour of the papal visit. | |
| 8.42pm BST20:42 | |
| Groups from the USA have travelled to Cuba for this historic visit. | |
| Americans from #Philly gathering first in #cuba for #pope visit to #havana pic.twitter.com/7uB0Bx2GtR | |
| 8.33pm BST20:33 | |
| With just 30 minutes to go until Pope Francis’ scheduled arrival in Havana, Stephanie Kirchgaessner reports, anticipation is growing about what he will say upon his arrival. | |
| There was a fair amount of confusion last week about how much time Francis has spent in Havana. It was assumed that he had joined Pope John Paul II on his historic visit in 1998, because Francis (then Jorge Bergoglio) wrote a book called Dialogues between John Paul II and Fidel Castro. But the Vatican confirmed last week that Francis has, in fact, never spent much time in Cuba. | |
| He has been there on a layover between Mexico and Argentina, but never left the airport. | |
| The papal biographer, Austen Ivereigh, is wondering what language the pope will use to describe the Cuban people. | |
| .@Pontifex in 1998 spoke of Cuban 'soul', which was neither communist nor individualist. Will that phrase be in his speeches? | |
| 8.31pm BST20:31 | |
| Great Instagram shot by user Eliaponte in Havana from two days ago, of nuns crossing Revolutionary Square under the iconic picture of Che Guevara. Pope Francis is set to speak here tomorrow. | |
| 8.25pm BST20:25 | 8.25pm BST20:25 |
| If you’re looking for an iconoclastic view of the papal visit, look no further than the Washington Post’s George Will. | If you’re looking for an iconoclastic view of the papal visit, look no further than the Washington Post’s George Will. |
| Francis’s fact-free flamboyance reduces him to a shepherd whose selectively reverent flock, genuflecting only at green altars, is tiny relative to the publicity it receives from media otherwise disdainful of his church. | Francis’s fact-free flamboyance reduces him to a shepherd whose selectively reverent flock, genuflecting only at green altars, is tiny relative to the publicity it receives from media otherwise disdainful of his church. |
| Secular people with anti-Catholic agendas drain his prestige, a dwindling asset, into promotion of policies inimical to the most vulnerable people and unrelated to what once was the papacy’s very different salvific mission. | Secular people with anti-Catholic agendas drain his prestige, a dwindling asset, into promotion of policies inimical to the most vulnerable people and unrelated to what once was the papacy’s very different salvific mission. |
| You can read the whole piece here. | You can read the whole piece here. |
| 8.20pm BST20:20 | 8.20pm BST20:20 |
| More from Jonathan Watts, who attended mass this morning at the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Saint Ignacio de Loyola, the main Jesuit church in Cuba. It is not on Francisco’s schedule, but locals hope he might drop by as his motorcade will pass by here on Sunday. | More from Jonathan Watts, who attended mass this morning at the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Saint Ignacio de Loyola, the main Jesuit church in Cuba. It is not on Francisco’s schedule, but locals hope he might drop by as his motorcade will pass by here on Sunday. |
| A noticeboard outside carries scrawled hopes for the visit from Catholics from the local parish, Mexico, Venezuela and Germany. ‘Thanks for your help in trying to end the embargo,’ writes one. ‘God bless Papa Francisco. We ask for your help in the prisons of Cuba,’ asks another. | A noticeboard outside carries scrawled hopes for the visit from Catholics from the local parish, Mexico, Venezuela and Germany. ‘Thanks for your help in trying to end the embargo,’ writes one. ‘God bless Papa Francisco. We ask for your help in the prisons of Cuba,’ asks another. |
| The mass itself highlighted why the Pope is on an evangelising mission in Cuba. There were mostly empty aisles and fewer than 30 people in the huge gothic church, which is bigger than the Havana cathedral. The visiting bishop Fransisco Soria led prayers for the pope’s trip, saying he hoped for the growth of the church. | The mass itself highlighted why the Pope is on an evangelising mission in Cuba. There were mostly empty aisles and fewer than 30 people in the huge gothic church, which is bigger than the Havana cathedral. The visiting bishop Fransisco Soria led prayers for the pope’s trip, saying he hoped for the growth of the church. |
| After the service, a Jesuit priest, Francisco Escolástico told me Cuba and Brazil are the only countries in the world to have been visited by three popes. This has raised expectations. ‘We have a rainfall of hope. Cuba is a country and a church that was closed for many years. The three papal visits in 17 years has helped the country to open up to the outside world and also helped to open things up inside the country so we can look at the reality, which includes poverty and misery. I don’t expect an enormous transformation. We want to hear words of faith.’” | After the service, a Jesuit priest, Francisco Escolástico told me Cuba and Brazil are the only countries in the world to have been visited by three popes. This has raised expectations. ‘We have a rainfall of hope. Cuba is a country and a church that was closed for many years. The three papal visits in 17 years has helped the country to open up to the outside world and also helped to open things up inside the country so we can look at the reality, which includes poverty and misery. I don’t expect an enormous transformation. We want to hear words of faith.’” |
| 8.06pm BST20:06 | 8.06pm BST20:06 |
| Raúl Castro is not the only leader Francis is likely to encounter in Cuba, Stephanie Kirchgaessner says. Reporters on the ground in Havana spotted Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, president of Argentina, in town for the papal visit. | Raúl Castro is not the only leader Francis is likely to encounter in Cuba, Stephanie Kirchgaessner says. Reporters on the ground in Havana spotted Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, president of Argentina, in town for the papal visit. |
| Argentine president Cristina Kirchner has arrived to Havana. Got invited by Raul Castro, for the papal visit. pic.twitter.com/esKO4zR4x4 | Argentine president Cristina Kirchner has arrived to Havana. Got invited by Raul Castro, for the papal visit. pic.twitter.com/esKO4zR4x4 |
| Pope Francis and Kirchner have had a long – and sometimes difficult – relationship. Before he became pope, the two clashed on the Argentinian president’s support for same-sex marriage and adoption and other issues that are opposed by the church. Their chilly relationship was on display when she barely mentioned the man she (and all of Argentina) knew as Jorge Bergoglio during a routine speech she gave right after his surprise election in 2013. | Pope Francis and Kirchner have had a long – and sometimes difficult – relationship. Before he became pope, the two clashed on the Argentinian president’s support for same-sex marriage and adoption and other issues that are opposed by the church. Their chilly relationship was on display when she barely mentioned the man she (and all of Argentina) knew as Jorge Bergoglio during a routine speech she gave right after his surprise election in 2013. |
| But their relationship has markedly improved. According to the Buenos Aires Herald website, Kirchner accepted an invitation by Raúl Castro to attend Pope Francis’s mass at the Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana on Sunday. It will be her seventh meeting with the pope; she also attended a mass Francis delivered in Paraguay on his last trip abroad. | But their relationship has markedly improved. According to the Buenos Aires Herald website, Kirchner accepted an invitation by Raúl Castro to attend Pope Francis’s mass at the Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana on Sunday. It will be her seventh meeting with the pope; she also attended a mass Francis delivered in Paraguay on his last trip abroad. |
| She may see him once more at the UN, when the pope delivers an address before the general assembly in New York. | She may see him once more at the UN, when the pope delivers an address before the general assembly in New York. |
| Updated at 8.13pm BST | Updated at 8.13pm BST |
| 7.53pm BST19:53 | 7.53pm BST19:53 |
| This is the newly opened American embassy in Havana, Cuba. | This is the newly opened American embassy in Havana, Cuba. |
| Eccola! L'Ambasciata USA a L'Avana! #ElPapaEnCuba pic.twitter.com/VAwmV46my5 | Eccola! L'Ambasciata USA a L'Avana! #ElPapaEnCuba pic.twitter.com/VAwmV46my5 |
| Pope Francis played a key role in brokering the thaw in diplomatic relations between the two countries, as this article details. | Pope Francis played a key role in brokering the thaw in diplomatic relations between the two countries, as this article details. |
| Updated at 8.14pm BST | Updated at 8.14pm BST |
| 7.40pm BST19:40 | 7.40pm BST19:40 |
| Jonathan Watts is on the ground in Havana for the Guardian, where he reports that hotels in Havana have added a “papal premium” to their already high prices. | Jonathan Watts is on the ground in Havana for the Guardian, where he reports that hotels in Havana have added a “papal premium” to their already high prices. |
| A receptionist at the Melia Cohiba said room rates were up 50% this weekend. Nonetheless, the hotel is full. I’ve never seen so many dog collars at breakfast. Clergy from all over the world have flown in to Havana ahead of the pope’s visit. | A receptionist at the Melia Cohiba said room rates were up 50% this weekend. Nonetheless, the hotel is full. I’ve never seen so many dog collars at breakfast. Clergy from all over the world have flown in to Havana ahead of the pope’s visit. |
| They include Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, and the retired archbishop of Washington, Theodore Edgar McCarrick, who told me he was also in Havana for the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1998. | They include Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, and the retired archbishop of Washington, Theodore Edgar McCarrick, who told me he was also in Havana for the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1998. |
| ‘That was a first by a pope,’ he said, ‘but today’s visit is also very exciting because Francisco is a historic personality.’ | ‘That was a first by a pope,’ he said, ‘but today’s visit is also very exciting because Francisco is a historic personality.’ |
| Updated at 8.15pm BST | Updated at 8.15pm BST |
| 7.27pm BST19:27 | 7.27pm BST19:27 |
| Here’s more from Rome correspondent Stephanie Kirchgaessner about life on board the Papal Plane (which, it turns out, is not actually called “Shepherd One”.) | Here’s more from Rome correspondent Stephanie Kirchgaessner about life on board the Papal Plane (which, it turns out, is not actually called “Shepherd One”.) |
| It is now customary for the pope to take questions on the return legs of a trip, and the Vatican has already said that the pope may take a few questions when he leaves Cuba en route to Washington. | It is now customary for the pope to take questions on the return legs of a trip, and the Vatican has already said that the pope may take a few questions when he leaves Cuba en route to Washington. |
| The Q&A can be stressful for journalists. According to some who spoke about the experience to the Guardian, journalists are grouped together based on the language they speak – an English group, French group, etc – and then are forced to agree on what they will ask, who will ask it, and in what order. Those who have been on board say that the most contentious discussions and debates over questions were always among the Americans and other English-speaking journalists on board. | The Q&A can be stressful for journalists. According to some who spoke about the experience to the Guardian, journalists are grouped together based on the language they speak – an English group, French group, etc – and then are forced to agree on what they will ask, who will ask it, and in what order. Those who have been on board say that the most contentious discussions and debates over questions were always among the Americans and other English-speaking journalists on board. |
| But life on the papal plane really isn’t that bad. Veteran Vaticanista John Allen, who is associate editor of the Crux website, sent a tweet of the wine list this morning: | But life on the papal plane really isn’t that bad. Veteran Vaticanista John Allen, who is associate editor of the Crux website, sent a tweet of the wine list this morning: |
| And, certainly not to be forgotten, here's the Papal Plane wine list ... pic.twitter.com/cXPPWsKzcM | And, certainly not to be forgotten, here's the Papal Plane wine list ... pic.twitter.com/cXPPWsKzcM |
| Updated at 8.16pm BST | Updated at 8.16pm BST |
| 7.20pm BST19:20 | 7.20pm BST19:20 |
| In Havana, an altar has been prepared for the papal mass tomorrow in Revolutionary Square. | In Havana, an altar has been prepared for the papal mass tomorrow in Revolutionary Square. |
| L'altare papale in Plaza de la Revolución #ElPapaEnCuba pic.twitter.com/2bpcFCWSH8 | L'altare papale in Plaza de la Revolución #ElPapaEnCuba pic.twitter.com/2bpcFCWSH8 |
| Revolutionary Square in Havana is almost ready for @Pontifex. Ear-splitting sound check went to 11. Ouch. pic.twitter.com/jzsmdk1mWR | Revolutionary Square in Havana is almost ready for @Pontifex. Ear-splitting sound check went to 11. Ouch. pic.twitter.com/jzsmdk1mWR |
| 7.06pm BST19:06 | 7.06pm BST19:06 |
| Papal visits abroad offer a rare opportunity for journalists to ask questions directly of the pontiff, Guardian correspondent Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome writes. | Papal visits abroad offer a rare opportunity for journalists to ask questions directly of the pontiff, Guardian correspondent Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome writes. |
| Pope Francis is flying to Havana on Alitalia, the customary choice for papal trips. His entourage includes about 75 journalists. Usually the pope greets reporters once he is on board – some chat with him, others maintain a respectful smile and nod. | Pope Francis is flying to Havana on Alitalia, the customary choice for papal trips. His entourage includes about 75 journalists. Usually the pope greets reporters once he is on board – some chat with him, others maintain a respectful smile and nod. |
| The Vatican received an unprecedented number of requests from journalists seeking to get on board – and many were denied. For those who are on the flight, one highlight is the fact that being on the papal plane is the only opportunity many will ever have to ask the pope a question, since he does not hold press conferences and rarely does interviews. | The Vatican received an unprecedented number of requests from journalists seeking to get on board – and many were denied. For those who are on the flight, one highlight is the fact that being on the papal plane is the only opportunity many will ever have to ask the pope a question, since he does not hold press conferences and rarely does interviews. |
| In July 2013, it was a question on the plane from a Brazilian reporter called Ilze Scamparini – about an allegedly gay Vatican official and the existence of a supposed ‘gay lobby’ – that prompted Pope Francis to utter his now-famous words: ‘If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?’ | In July 2013, it was a question on the plane from a Brazilian reporter called Ilze Scamparini – about an allegedly gay Vatican official and the existence of a supposed ‘gay lobby’ – that prompted Pope Francis to utter his now-famous words: ‘If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?’ |
| Updated at 8.18pm BST | Updated at 8.18pm BST |
| 7.02pm BST19:02 | 7.02pm BST19:02 |
| Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Pope Francis’s arrival in Cuba, prior to his visit to the island and then the United States. | Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Pope Francis’s arrival in Cuba, prior to his visit to the island and then the United States. |
| First on the papal itinerary is Cuba, the island nation whose relations with the US have just been thawed by President Obama, who reopened the US embassy in Havana earlier this year. The papal visit is especially meaningful as Francis played a crucial role in brokering the deal between the two countries after sending letters to both Raúl Castro and Barack Obama, urging them to reopen dialogue. | First on the papal itinerary is Cuba, the island nation whose relations with the US have just been thawed by President Obama, who reopened the US embassy in Havana earlier this year. The papal visit is especially meaningful as Francis played a crucial role in brokering the deal between the two countries after sending letters to both Raúl Castro and Barack Obama, urging them to reopen dialogue. |
| This will be the third visit to Cuba by a pontiff in the last 17 years. | This will be the third visit to Cuba by a pontiff in the last 17 years. |
| I ask you to join me in praying for my trip to Cuba and the United States. I need your prayers. | I ask you to join me in praying for my trip to Cuba and the United States. I need your prayers. |
| The papal plane is scheduled to touch down at Havana’s Jose Marti airport at 4.05pm US eastern time, at which point there will be a welcoming ceremony, at which the pope will give a speech. | The papal plane is scheduled to touch down at Havana’s Jose Marti airport at 4.05pm US eastern time, at which point there will be a welcoming ceremony, at which the pope will give a speech. |
| He will conduct an outdoor mass in Revolution Square on Sunday, then visit Solguin and Santiago de Cuba on Monday before departing for Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington DC on Tuesday. | He will conduct an outdoor mass in Revolution Square on Sunday, then visit Solguin and Santiago de Cuba on Monday before departing for Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington DC on Tuesday. |
| Stay tuned for live updates. | Stay tuned for live updates. |
| Updated at 8.20pm BST | Updated at 8.20pm BST |