Pope Francis talks with Cuban President Raul Castro during a private audience at the Vatican on May 10.(Photo: Gregorio Borgia, AP)
Pope Francis welcomed Cuban President Raúl Castro to the Vatican on Sunday.
The two had a "strictly private" meeting in the study of the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall.
The meeting came after a personal appeal by Francis played a key role in finalizing a deal to open relations between the United States and Cuba for the first time in 53 years.
The pope for the first time wrote a personal letter to President Obama in the fall, and a separate letter to Castro, inviting them to "resolve humanitarian questions of common interest," according to a Vatican statement.
The Vatican received delegations from both countries in October and helped facilitate a dialogue, resulting in a major U.S. policy shift toward Cuba, including a prisoner swap between the two countries.
Announcing the meeting, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said: "As we already know, President Raúl Castro has publicly thanked the Pope for his role in fostering the rapprochement between Cuba and the United States of America."
The Vatican last month announced that Francis would visit Cuba before arriving in the United States in September.
USA TODAY
Pope Francis played key role in U.S.-Cuba deal
The pontiff is scheduled to visit Washington, New York City and Philadelphia starting around Sept. 23.
Francis would be the third pope to visit Cuba, after Pope John Paul II in 1998 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.
Castro's brother, former long term Cuban leader Fidel, met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1996.
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