Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died in Rome on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88, following health complications that had required hospitalization at the Gemelli Polyclinic and later continued care at his residence. His condition had worsened in recent weeks, despite making several public appearances until his final day, including a meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance just 24 hours before his death.

Francis made history as the first Jesuit pope and the first pontiff from Latin America. His election in 2013 at the age of 76 marked an unexpected turning point for the Catholic Church. From the outset, he was seen as a reform-minded leader committed to addressing social and geopolitical issues facing the modern world.

Among his significant international efforts, Pope Francis played a key role in the thawing of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, particularly during the rapprochement that began in late 2014. His mediation efforts were acknowledged by leaders on both sides, including then-presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro.

His visit to Cuba in September 2015 solidified that role. During the trip—which included open-air Masses in Havana, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba—he met with religious and political leaders and delivered messages calling for dialogue and openness. In a speech in Havana, the pope urged for “justice, peace, freedom, and reconciliation” for the Cuban people. While he stopped short of directly criticizing the government, his words resonated in a country long shaped by centralized power and strained relations with civil society.

Just a few months later, in February 2016, Havana hosted another historic moment for the Francis papacy: a meeting between the pope and Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church—the first time a Catholic pontiff and a Russian Orthodox leader had ever met in an official capacity.

The Vatican’s ties with the Cuban government remained active throughout Francis’s tenure. In 2023, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the Vatican for an audience with the pope, amid growing international criticism of Cuba’s human rights record and a deepening economic crisis. It was the third time a Cuban head of state had made such a visit, following Fidel Castro in 1996 and Raúl Castro in 2015.

According to a report by the EFE news agency, the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, received a request regarding the release of prisoners in Cuba during that 2023 visit. The official Vatican statement, however, did not confirm whether the matter was directly discussed. Meanwhile, protesters—including Cuban expatriates in Italy—gathered near the Holy See to condemn political repression, forced exile, and what they saw as the Vatican’s legitimization of the Cuban government.

Francis’s final significant involvement in Cuban affairs came in January 2025, when Cuban authorities announced the release of more than 500 prisoners. The move, described by the Cuban Foreign Ministry as part of a broader criminal review process, involved individuals convicted of "common crimes," according to official statements. Although the government avoided any mention of political prisoners, the scale and timing of the announcement sparked hope both inside and outside Cuba—particularly among families of those jailed during the July 11 protests in 2021 and among international groups advocating for a general amnesty. Ultimately, only 231 of those released were confirmed political prisoners.

This development was part of an ongoing mediation effort between the Cuban government and the Catholic Church. According to Vatican News, President Díaz-Canel informed Pope Francis of the decision in a letter. The announcement coincided with the Vatican’s messaging ahead of the Holy Year 2025, in which the pope called for acts of reconciliation and clemency. Cuban authorities cited the “spirit of the Jubilee” as a backdrop to the move while avoiding any link to recent diplomatic shifts, including the Biden administration’s announcement that Cuba would be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Before ascending to the papacy, Bergoglio was known for his austere lifestyle as Archbishop of Buenos Aires—riding public transportation, living in a modest apartment, and cooking his own meals. Ordained a priest in 1969 and elevated to cardinal by John Paul II in 2001, his career in the Church was defined by a deep commitment to marginalized communities and a vision of faith grounded in service.