Pope to travel to Cuba

Pope Francis will travel to Cuba in September before making his first visit to the United States.

NBC News reported that Francis had “received and accepted the invitation from the civil authorities and bishops of Cuba,” according to Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See’s press office.

{mosads}The Pope then “decided to pay a visit to the island before his arrival in the United States,” Federico said.

The papal trip to Cuba will be followed by a packed schedule in the United States, where Francis is to visit New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Francis played a key role in the recent breakthrough in diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. He hosted a meeting of officials at the Vatican and wrote letters to President Obama and Cuban leader Raul Casto urging them to end decades of estrangement.

The Obama administration removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism on April 14. The landmark decision came after Obama met with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City on April 11.

Obama will host Francis for a private meeting at the White House on Sept. 23. The pope is then scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on Sept. 24.

The pontiff is also penciled in for a speech at the United Nations during his stop in New York. The pope’s crowded schedule marks his inaugural visit to the U.S. since assuming leadership of the Holy See in 2013.