Related videos:
Mike Hammer and Mons. Silvano Pedroso Montalvo, the bishop of Guantánamo-Baracoa, met this Sunday in the Vatican.
"It's great to meet here in Rome with the Bishop of Guantanamo, Monsignor Silvano Herminio Pedrosa, after his audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican," Hammer wrote on X from the account of the United States Embassy in Cuba.
The schedules of the prelate and the diplomat seem to have coincidentally crossed paths in the Vatican, although with the ongoing alleged discussions between Washington and Havana, the meeting could give rise to speculation.
Hammer has been officially visiting Rome since Thursday, while Mons. Silvano Pedroso Montalvo, Bishop of Guantánamo-Baracoa, met with the pontiff on Friday during the traditional ad limina visit, despite the fact that the rest of the Cuban episcopate had canceled the trip due to the energy crisis affecting the Island.
The official agenda of the Vatican confirmed the presence of the Cuban prelate in Rome, although the press office did not provide additional details about the unscheduled meeting. Pedroso is one of the 17 bishops that make up the Catholic hierarchy in Cuba, distributed across 11 ecclesiastical jurisdictions throughout the country.
The ad limina visit —which involves a meeting with the Pope and the presentation of a report on the pastoral reality of each diocese— was scheduled between February 16 and 20. However, initially it was suspended due to the seriousness of the situation on the Island.
Days earlier, Vatican sources had confirmed that the trip was canceled "because current conditions do not allow it," directly referring to the lack of fuel that has even affected air operations. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Cuba itself had warned about the worsening of the crisis and emphasized the urgency of supporting the people amid so many shortages.
"The pastors have prayed and understood that this is a time to be with the flock: to pray, accompany, and serve," explained Father Ariel Suárez, deputy secretary of the Cuban Episcopal Conference, in statements gathered by EWTN News.
That only one of them ultimately managed to travel adds an unexpected nuance to a context marked by scarcity. The prolonged economic crisis—characterized by a decline in GDP, rising inflation, and power outages lasting for hours in various provinces—has complicated travel both within the country and abroad, turning any departure into an ordeal.
The gesture carries special symbolism at a time of heightened diplomatic tensions. On February 1, after the Angelus prayer, Pope Leo XIV publicly expressed his concern over the escalation between Cuba and the United States and called for a “sincere and effective dialogue” to prevent further suffering for the Cuban people. His remarks came after Washington intensified economic pressure on the Island through measures aimed at cutting off the supply of oil.
Hammer, for his part, met on Thursday for an official visit to Rome with representatives of the Vatican and Latin American diplomats, as part of the efforts of President Donald Trump's administration to strengthen international support for the freedom of the Cuban people.
According to the information provided by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, Hammer met with Caritas Internationalis to coordinate the delivery of direct humanitarian aid to Cubans through the Catholic Church, a mechanism that Washington has prioritized to avoid the regime's involvement.
The diplomat also participated in a meeting organized by the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, Joe Donnelly Burch, with a group of Latin American ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.
This Sunday, the Cuban regime's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez criticized Hammer's trip to Europe and accused him of lobbying to try to end Cuban medical missions on that continent.
Filed under: