Church confirms pope to visit Cuba in spring

Pope Benedict XVI blesses the faifthful in Rome,
Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
By ANNE-MARIE GARCIA, Associated Press – 21 minutes ago

HAVANA (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI will visit Cuba this spring, a senior Roman Catholic Church official said Thursday.

"On Monday Dec. 12 the Holy Father will make public the date of the visit and the schedule," said Monsignor Jose Felix Perez, executive secretary of the Cuban Bishops Conference.

"It will be a moment for energizing the faith in Cuba. It will give strength and vigor to the faith in Cuba," Perez said. "The visit should be one of peace and reconciliation."

The cleric said Benedict's trip would be a continuation of the historic visit in 1998 by Pope John Paul II that helped ease decades of tensions between the Vatican and Cuba under Fidel Castro, although the two never severed ties.

Cuba had removed references to atheism from the constitution and allowed believers of all faiths to join the Communist Party earlier in the 1990s.

Vatican officials have said the pope also is likely to visit Brazil and Mexico.