played in thawing diplomatic relations between the united states and cuba. >> cardinal ortega go between between raul castro and president obama, and because he was so trusted by raul castro, you know, he was able to kind of act as that intermediary and really help to thaw things, so i think he's sort of the hero of the hour. >> and the friendship, i mean, the thing that raul castro has said, a communist leader, are stunning. let me read you one that he said recently. if the pope continues this way, i will go back to praying and go back to the church and i am not joking. that coming from the leader of a communist country, where before, not that long ago, people weren't allowed to embrace religion. >> honestly, you're right, it is stunning and to see the picture of jesus in revolutionary square with the gospel verse "come to me, all you who labor and i'll give you rest," it's a revolution of another sort. >> pope francis, after he leaves cuba, will be the first pope to address congress. this, at the same time that you've got, i believe, seven of the candidates running for offic

and i think even more interesting than that is under the wing of the pope cardinal ortega who is the inal of cuba called for conciliation and inclusion of folks alleviated from the political system. finally the pope was at pressured by a disdent who broke through security lines when he was going to start and he stopped and listened to the message and blessed him. this is a pope that is very intelligent. he is very strategic and i think you saw very, very clearly his message of diplomacy and he spoke earlier on the move that he brokered to bring the united states and cuba closer and how that was an example for the world to follow. so i think this pope, people i think twho -- who expect him to couple out in a confrontational style will be disappointed but by the same token this is a pope who knows how to work behind the scenes, create a dialog and make good things happen. >> the pope will speak much more freely about his ideaings when he arrives in the u.s. stay with al jazeera america throughout the week and we will bring you complete coverage of the pope's visit to cuba and america. c

he is going to be met by cuba's leader, raul castro and cardinal ortega. it will be a very busy time for the pope on the island of cuba. this is after all the third papal visit to cuba in the past 17 years. he will meet with castro. he might meet with fidel castro, depending how well the 89-year-old former leader's health is. we are watching raul and the head of the church walk out to meet the pope. raul has had an interesting relationship. he said if this pope keeps talking and writing the way he is writing, i might go back to the church. he was baptized by jesuits. he and his brother led harsh tactics, confiscated churches and schools and driving the catholics out. easter was rein stated as a holiday. now this pope is visiting. the first native speaker of spanish and someone raul castro says he feels akin to. it has been a buffer between the united states and cuba. he is seen by many to being one of the key mediators help to go end a 50-year cold war standoff, which resulted in embassies being established in washington and havana this summer. he is likel

his comments weren't a big surprise to the cardinal, ortega who are told cnn in his office, the cuban leader that is a statue of a version of the virgin mary that looks similar to this. he was supposed to give it to pope benedict but he changed his mind. many people who visited his office told him it was really nice the cardinal says and that he should leave it there and have another one made for the pope. that's what happened. he gave another one to the pope when he came. that one stayed in his office. during his trip to cuba, the pope and raul castro will be seeing a lot of each other. >> we're in revolution square where the pope will deliver his first mass in cuba. raul castro will not only be at a mass in havana, he'll be at all three of the masses the pope gives while he's in cuba. many people say it's beyond a symbol of respect that is actually a sign of the friendship that's been developed between the two different men. >> francis biographer says changing the u.s./cuban relationship is a crucial part of the pope's foreign policy and future legacy. >> i think he's coming here be

it's hard for you to hear us, but we're going to take it from you just right now because we saw cardinal ortega, who was trying to help u.s. relations. he was with, of course, president raul castro. what is waiting for the pope on the ground? this is obviously planned out. >> absolutely. we have a crowd that's going to greet him waving vatican and cuban flags. interesting recently, of course, contact with raul castro, the established friendship of sorts, certainly respectful working relationship. raul castro's office there's an atheist, communist, and black madonna, sight the pope will visit in his office. he's not a religious man, but certainly a man with respect of people of faith. great deal of respect for pope francis, for what he's done, how he's helped move the ball forward in u.s.-cuban relations and he'll be greeting as soon as the pope walks down the gangway. >> president castro said what the pope has done made him think about considering prayer again, and he's not alone in that sentiment. there's hope for many people going wild right now on the tarmac for pope francis. let's listen in

his comments weren't a complete surprise to cuba's cardinal, ortega, who told cnn that in his officeas a statue of a version of the virgin mary that looks similar to this. he was supposed to give the statue to pope benedict but then he changed his mind. "many people who visited his office told him it was really nice and that he should leave it there and have another one made for the pope, and that's what happened. he gave another one to the pope when he came and that one stayed in his office." during his trip to cuba, the pope and raul castro will be seeing a lot of each other. we are in revolution square where the pope will deliver his first mass in cuba. what's different about this papal trip is raul castro will not only be in havana, he'll be at all three of the masses the pope gives while he's in cuba. many people say it's beyond a symbol of respect that it is actual lay sign of the friendship that's developed between these two very different men. francis biographer austin ibare says changing the u.s./cuban relationship is part of the pope's future legacy. >> i think he's coming

more interesting than that, under the wing of the pope, cardinal ortega, the cardinal of cuba very directly called for reconciliation with miami's cubans and called for inclusion of folks who have been alienated from the political system. finally, the pope was approached by a dissident who broke through security lines when he was about to start mass. he stopped, listened to the man's messages and then he blessed him. >> let's talk more about that. we know several government dissidents were detained to really keep them away from some of these. a pal events. some are calling on the pope to intervene and urge the government to release them, but the pope is really not going there. even as he breaches for peace and reconciliation in cuba, do you think this is something he's talking about with the castro brothers behind closed doors? >> i suspect he probably is. this is a pope that is very intelligent. he's very strategic. i think you saw very, very clearly his message of diplomacy. he spoke earlier on the move that he brokered to bring the united states and cuba closer and how that was an exampl

was playing a role in the normalization relations with the united states and the church through cardinal ortega very sidenctly stepped on the of normalization. and this is important because there was a large delegation of cuban-americans from miami and other places in the united states. i personally met with the bishop of miami and there were lots of cuban-americans who some years ago would not have dreamed to come to cuba, and now they are here in cuba being part of this process. as a matter of fact, many have left to be present at the mass today. amy: described the mass you attended. what revolution square was like on sunday. and then talk about the significance of the meeting between the pope, between pope francis come of the first latin american pope, and fidel castro at his home with his family. was full ofass people. i was surprised by the number of young people who are believing catholic, which is import and for the church because in the past, the church has never crossed the threshold of maybe 10% of the population being practicing catholics. so it was a manifestation of the growing inf

through cardinal ortega and others. that was a central role played by the church in developing that relationship between the united states and cuba. >> it was a crucial moment for this white house, the vatican and cuba. because the popes before francis and francis always said we would like to see the united states and cuba resolve their differences. that was not new for pope francis. what was new was the willingness to intervene, willingness to be an intermediary, willingness to operate secretly on behalf of both governments to give them space and time to try to resolve some of these issues. that was a key moment, not only for this president, this pope and the cuban government, but for all the international community. and when the pope referred to reconciliation and trying to find ways to create common ground internationally, he was using the vatican's role in that very long-standing difficult issue between two nations as an example. >> it's a very interesting example of a pope because of his moral authority being able

it is raul castro, the president of cuba will be there to meet him along with the cardinal of cuba, ortegaivate matter, but if they meet, we will see footage of that later on, alex. >> any measure of concern of security in terms of keeping the pope from doing what he loves the do getting out there in the crowds like he wants to do in the u.s.? >> no, not even compared to the u.s., there is no security at all here. and i seems that the pope is in an arm's length of the people, and just the way he likes it, and the people like it, and no major concern, and of course sh, the security is still high here, but nothing compared to what you will see in the states where the pope will find it very hard to be close to the people the way he likes it, alex. >> thank you, claude e owe lava lavanga, and all eyes will be there on you in a few hours. >>> and the man suspected of shootings in arizona after a man was arrested in walmart in glendale. his gun is linked to four of the 11 shootings there in phoenix. and i understand, gadi schwartz, that you have new information. >> yes, bart graves is joining us