Valdes presided over this event in honor of the independence hero, shortly after he arrives in this capital on Friday evening, leading a delegation that, on behalf of the Cuban State, Government, and people, will participate in the enthronement of Pope Leo XIV as Pontiff of the Catholic Church on Sunday, May 18.

Earlier this morning, the Cuban vice president and members of his delegation, including Caridad Diego, head of the Office of Attention to Religious Affairs at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), and Deputy Foreign Minister Elio Rodriguez, also honored the recently deceased Pope Francis.

Valdes and his accompanying delegation, Cuba’s Ambassador to Italy, Mirta Granda, and Cuba’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Rene Mujica, laid white roses on the tomb of the man who was a sincere friend of the Caribbean nation’s people, in his simple tomb located in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

The vice president recently told Prensa Latina that Francis “was a man who loved Cuba very much, and always maintained a special relationship with his people,” that “he made clear at all times.”

The members of the Cuban delegation then went to the EUR Lake Park, where the Marti Memorial is located, to attend the emotional ceremony in remembrance of the Apostle of Cuban independence, who died on May 19, 1895.

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