Pope Francis to Meet Lula da Silva and Diaz-Canel

Vatican authorities announced that Pope Francis will have meetings with the presidents of Brazil and Cuba in the upcoming week.

On June 20, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez will be received by the Pope. Later, they will meet with the State Secretary Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and subsequently with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

On June 21, Pope Francis will grant an audience to Brazilian President Lula da Silva. This meeting takes place nearly ten years after the visit the Argentine Pope made to Brazil in July 2013, when he participated in the World Youth Day held in Rio de Janeiro.

This audience will take place at the Pontifical Palace and will occur just a few days after the Pope was discharged following abdominal hernia surgery at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

This audience is part of the international trips undertaken by Lula to "reposition Brazil in the world" after four years of isolation during the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).

The Workers' Party leader visited the Vatican in November 2008 to meet with Benedict XVI, who also visited the country in 2007, and later returned as the former president to meet with Francis on February 13, 2020.

On that occasion, the audience lasted about an hour and focused on topics such as democracy, the environment, and inequalities, as well as the need for an economy that involves young people and the poor.