The Cuban bishops’ ad limina visit with Pope Leo was set for Feb. 16–20, but the urgent need to remain with the flock amid the fuel shortage crisis allowed only one bishop to make the trip to Rome.
According to the pope’s daily agenda, Bishop Silvano Pedroso Montalvo of Guantánamo-Baracoa, Cuba, was in Rome on Friday, Feb. 20, for the ad limina visit of Cuban bishops and met with Pope Leo XIV this morning.
The Vatican press office did not provide further details of the unscheduled meeting. The prelate is one of the 17 bishops who comprise the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Cuba, distributed among 11 ecclesiastical jurisdictions — three archdioceses and eight dioceses — covering the entire country.
The Cuban bishops’ ad limina visit to Rome was originally scheduled for Feb. 16–20 but was postponed due to the energy crisis the country is going through. Initially, the bishops announced they could not travel because of pastoral priorities amid the severe fuel shortage, in a context marked by tightened U.S. sanctions and uncertainty regarding oil supplies.
“The shepherds have prayed and understood that this is a time to be with the flock: praying, accompanying, serving,” Father Ariel
