Cardinal Bertone will be in Cuba from February 20-26 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba, said Ortega as reported by Granma daily. John Paul II was welcomed with great affection by the people and well received by the countrys authorities, recalled Ortega.

"John Pauls visit to Cuba left a more lively presence of the Catholic Church in Cuban reality and closer relations between the church, society and the state," said the archbishop. "I believe it is significant that Pope Benedict XVI sends his secretary of state to Cuba for the commemoration of a landmark in the history of the Catholic Church in our country," he noted.

Cardinal Bertone will celebrate a mass at the Cathedral Plaza in Havana on February 21. He will also travel to the city of Santa Clara, to Santiago de Cuba to visit the Santuario del Cobre (Shrine of our Lady of Charity) and the province of Guantanamo, said Ortega.

The cardinal and archbishop of Havana said the stay of the Vatican secretary will be "a little like reliving the visit of John Paul II in a profoundly human feeling for all our people."

(www.cubanews.ain.cu)