The prelates will be in Rome, for the traditional ‘Ad Limina’ visit, between February 16 and 20.
14ymedio, Havana, February 3, 2026 — The Bishop of Holguín, Emilio Aranguren, confirmed this Monday on Radio Ángulo that the Catholic bishops of Cuba will meet with Pope Leo XIV for the first time during his upcoming trip to Rome, between February 16 and 20. This is the traditional Ad Limina Apostolorum visit, the meeting that the prelates make every five years at the Vatican, during which they present a report on the situation of their dioceses and make a pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul, as established by the Code of Canon Law.
However, the meeting is generating special anticipation at a moment when the Pope has spoken out about the escalating tensions between Cuba and the United States. From St. Peter’s Square, the Pope urged “all those responsible to promote a sincere and effective dialogue, to avoid violence and any action that could increase the suffering of the Cuban people.” He also invoked the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre [Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre] to protect the citizens of the island.
The day before, the Cuban Episcopal Conference issued a statement warning that in the last six months, “the situation has worsened and anguish and despair have intensified” in the country. In a message on their website, the Cuban bishops indicated that, given the current situation, changes “are increasingly urgent.”
Both circumstances suggest that the Church may once again play a mediating role between Havana and Washington
Both circumstances suggest that the Church may once again play a mediating role between Havana and Washington, as has recently occurred with the distribution of aid for Hurricane Melissa or the release of political prisoners in 2025.
The last Ad Limina visit by Cuban bishops took place in 2017, during the pontificate of Francis. At that time, Cuba was experiencing a diplomatic rapprochement with the United States, which did not lead to significant structural changes.
Cuban bishops, for their part, tend to stay within established parameters when criticizing the government, but the same cannot be said of many Catholic priests, who have not only spoken out but have also suffered the consequences. Last December, Mexican priest José Ramírez, of the Congregation of the Mission, left the island after ringing the bells of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal parish during a protest against power outages. Ramírez coordinated social programs in his parish, including visits to the elderly, home care for the sick, and a free school for children with Down syndrome.
Last Sunday, Mike Hammer, head of the U.S. mission in Cuba, met in Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, with Father José Conrado Rodríguez, one of the most vocal critics of the Catholic Church in the country. Upon leaving the meeting, the diplomat encountered a group of people, likely members of the Communist Party, who shouted “all kinds of obscenities” at him, according to his own account. Just before that visit, he had suffered another act of repudiation in Camagüey.
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