Pope Francis kicked off his visit to Cuba by praising the normalization between the United States and Cuba, according to the Washington Post.
The pope arrived in Cuba earlier on Saturday afternoon to start a 10-day journey that will also take him to the United States.
Francis said that the normalization between the two countries is an “example of reconciliation for the entire world,” the Washington Post reported.
The comments come as the Obama administration is working to ease travel and trade restrictions with the country. Earlier this year the administration reopened the Cuban Embassy and on Friday federal regulations were released that ease part of the embargo restrictions.
Pope Francis also hopes to strengthen the bond between the Cuban people and the Catholic Church, a fact that he also highlighted in his opening remarks.
“Today we renew those bonds of cooperation and friendship, so that the Church can continue to support and encourage the Cuban people in its hopes and concerns,” according to the Post’s account.
