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Pope Francis and leader of Russian Orthodox Church to meet in Cuba Pope Francis and leader of Russian Orthodox Church to meet in Cuba
(35 minutes later)
The Vatican has said Pope Francis and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet in Cuba. Pope Francis and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church will hold a historic meeting in Cuba, the Vatican has said.
Father Federico Lombardi announced the meeting will take place on 12 February in a news conference on Friday. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, announced the meeting with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow will take place on 12 February.  
The historic meeting will be the first of its kind. The unprecedented meeting will be the first between a Pope and a Russian Orthodox Patriarch in history.
More to follow The encounter is expected to be a milestone in relations between the two churches and a significant step towards healing the 1,000-year-old rift between the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity, which split in the Great Schism of 1054.
Pope Francis is due to visit Mexico between 12 and 18 February. He will stop in Cuba on the way and meet with Patriarch Kirill.
The Vatican said the encounter will include a “personal interview” at the International Airport José Martí in Havana and will conclude with the signing of a “joint declaration”.
The meeting, which was announced jointly at the Vatican and in Moscow, marks a major development in the Vatican's long effort to bridge the divisions in Christianity.
In November 2014, Pope Francis had said he had told Patriarch Kirill: "I'll go wherever you want. You call me and I'll go."
In the joint statement, the two churches said the meeting "will mark an important stage in relations between the two churches. The Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate hope that it will also be a sign of hope for all people of good will."
Additional reporting by various agencies