The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba announced that Pope Benedict XVI will be in Cuba March 26-28.

According to the official announcement, the Pope is scheduled to arrive in Santiago de Cuba in the early afternoon of March 26 by plane from Mexico. He will be welcomed by Raúl Castro, by members of the episcopal conference and by the archbishop of Santiago, Dionisio García Ibañez. Benedict will then travel by open-top car to the Plaza de la Revolución, where he will celebrate mass. After the ceremony, he will move on to the nearby mining town of El Cobre, home to Cuba’s patron, the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre. At El Cobre, he will spend the night in a residence for priests.

In the morning of March 27, the Pope will make a private visit to the shrine, where he will pray before the statue. He will then be driven to the airport of Santiago to fly to Havana, where he is due to arrive at midday. He will be welcomed at the airport by Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana, and by other religious and civil authorities. That afternoon, the Pope will hold an official meeting with President Castro, and then meet with Cuban bishops in the apostolic nunciature.

In the morning of March 28, Benedict will preside at mass in the Plaza de la Revolución. In the early afternoon, he will be taken by open-top car to the Havana airport, where he will board his return flight to Rome.

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