Pope will visit Cuba before trip to U.S.

The plan comes amid a breakthrough for which Francis has received much credit.

MEXICO CITY — Pope Francis on Wednesday confirmed that he will travel to Cuba before his trip to the United States in September.

His spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, announced at the Vatican that Francis had accepted the invitations of Cuban government officials and the island nation’s Roman Catholic bishops to visit.

Francis’ decision comes at a time of a historic renewal of diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba after more than half a century, a breakthrough for which the pope has received much credit.

Adding Cuba to the itinerary seals that accomplishment, in which he served as a bridge between the two erstwhile enemies.

Presidents Obama and Raul Castro announced the thaw in relations in December. Francis had worked behind the scenes, steering complex negotiations between representatives of the two governments and then overseeing the final talks in Rome in October.

The first pontiff from the Americas, Francis, a Jesuit from Argentina, is scheduled to begin a three-city tour of the United States on Sept. 23. His agenda includes speeches at the United Nations in New York and before Congress in Washington. In addition, he will meet with Obama and speak to a gathering of Catholic families in Philadelphia.

Both of Francis’ two immediate predecessors traveled to Cuba. John Paul II made the first trip, in 1998, for a groundbreaking meeting with Fidel Castro that is largely credited with allowing slightly more freedom for the island’s Catholics.

Benedict XVI followed in 2012, when he saw Fidel’s successor, brother Raul Castro, and offered an important boost to Cardinal Jaime Ortega, who was also engaged in a form of rapprochement with the Communist government.

Benedict reiterated longstanding Vatican positions — condemning both Marxism and the U.S. embargo against Cuba — but he recognized the beginnings of change.

Mario Paredes, an expert on the church in Latin America with the American Bible Society, said Francis’ decision to travel to Cuba was in keeping with his commitment to helping Latin America come to terms with the role the Cuban Revolution played in the region.

Paredes noted that the then-archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who would later become Pope Francis, wrote a book about the first papal visit to the island in 1998, titled “Dialogues Between John Paul II and Fidel Castro.”

“Even then he was already reflecting on Cuba and in defense of dialogue ... as a way of mending situations marred by mistrust and confrontation,” Paredes said.