Yet for all the goodwill on the streets of Havana ahead of the pontiff’s arrival on Saturday, there are low expectations among Cubans that his three-day visit will spur any major domestic change on the communist-run island of 11 million people.
“We’re all grateful to him. He’s already achieved a lot for Cuba,” said Ariel Guerra, 30, a restaurant worker whose brother, in jail for killing someone while driving drunk, was among 3,522 common prisoners pardoned last week as a gesture to the pope.
“What we really need is more opening, more investment, better salaries, but I don’t think the pope can influence the economy,” added Guerra, who works in the shadow of the 18th-century cathedral in Old Havana.
Nevertheless, a warm reception awaits Francis when he follows in the footsteps of Pope John Paul’s groundbreaking 1998 visit and Pope Benedict’s 2012 trip.
For starters, the Argentine-born pontiff is a fellow Spanish-speaker. There is also great affection toward him for his help in brokering secret talks to end Cold War-era hostilities between Cuba and the United States. The two countries restored diplomatic relations in July.
And Francis’ global reputation as a man of the people — driven in a regular car and occupying a modest Vatican guest house — has not gone unnoticed among generally plain-living Cubans.
“He’s different from the others. Humbler. You could even say he is a ‘socialist’ pope! So of course he’s going to go down well here, isn’t he?” laughed Juan de la Torre, 47, a devout Catholic who attended Mass during both previous papal visits.