Cuba’s bishops are scheduled to travel to Rome later this month to meet with Vatican dicasteries and present Pope Leo XIV with a report on the state of the dioceses on the island.
In a message that will be read at Masses this weekend, the bishops will announce that they have been “called to Rome during Feb. 16–20 to pray in the four major basilicas, to meet for the first time with the Holy Father Leo XIV, and to share with him and with the heads of the Holy See’s dicasteries the vicissitudes, sorrows, joys, and hopes of the Church in Cuba.”
The Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops (COCC, by its Spanish acronym) states that the trip is part of the ad limina visit that bishops must make every five years to the See of St. Peter.
“Every five years, the diocesan bishop must have a personal meeting with the Holy Father, present him with a report on the state of his diocese, and make a pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul,” the announcement states, citing the Code of Canon Law.
The COCC reports that the meeting with Leo XIV will take place on the morning of Friday, Feb. 20. “We are filled with anticipation to listen to and converse with someone who, in a way, knows us, since he visited our country twice when he was the superior general of the Augustinian Fathers,” the announcement notes.
The trip comes as the Catholic Church is the sole distributor of humanitarian aid sent by the United States government to people affected by Hurricane Melissa — a distribution that is taking place without the intervention of the Cuban government.
This is in addition to the meetings that some bishops have held in recent days with the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, Mike Hammer.
On Sunday, Feb. 1, Pope Leo XIV expressed his concern over “reports of increased tensions between Cuba and the United States of America.”
The pontiff expressed his support for the bishops’ message of Jan. 31 and urged “all those responsible to promote a sincere and effective dialogue, to avoid violence and any action that could increase the sufferings of the dear Cuban people.”
Prayer for their ad limina visit
On the occasion of their trip to the Vatican, the bishops have asked the faithful to accompany them with their prayers and have published the following prayer on their website:
Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd,
who guide your Church along the paths of history,
we pray for our bishops,
who are making a pilgrimage to Rome
to participate in the Ad Limina Apostolorum visit:
May this visit be for them a time of grace and renewal in faith,
of strengthening in communion with the successor of the Apostle Peter, Pope Leo XIV.
Lord, assist our bishops with your grace,
make this visit for them
a moment of attentive listening and sincere conversion,
of profound encounter with you and with their brothers
with Pope Leo and all his closest collaborators,
so that upon their return, they may continue to inspire our life of faith
and accompany the daily lives of our communities and people.
May they, as they kneel before the tombs of the holy apostles,
carry in their hearts the joys and sorrows,
the hopes and wounds of this Church on pilgrimage in Cuba,
and of all the Cuban people,
especially the weakest and most weary,
those who live in despair and poverty,
violence or loneliness.
Holy Mary, Virgin of charity,
Mother of the Church and queen of the apostles,
receive our bishops under your mantle
and accompany them on this pilgrimage to Rome,
so that, strengthened by the faith of Peter,
they may return to our Church with renewed apostolic and missionary zeal.
Amen.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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