“I express heartfelt condolences to the international Catholic community at this moment of sorrow for the death of Pope Francis,” Rodriguez said on the social network X.
As he commented on the platform itself, the Caribbean nation will remember “with affection his visits to Cuba and the closeness he always transmitted to Cubans”.
A notification from the Vatican assured that this Monday “the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father” and highlighted his lifelong dedication “to the service of the Lord and his Church”.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis, was elected head of the Catholic Church in March 2013, after the resignation of Benedict XVI.
He suffered from respiratory problems and was hospitalized for more than a month, until he was medically discharged last March 23.
He died at the age of 88, shortly after his appearance in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on the occasion of Easter Sunday.
From September 19 to 22, 2015, Pope Francis made an apostolic trip to Cuba, during which he held talks with the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro.
On February 12, 2016, he also returned to Cuban soil on a stopover during his trip to Mexico, and held a meeting with the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Kirill, the first meeting of the leaders of both churches after the division of Christianity in 1054.
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