Cuban Bishops Cancel Vatican Visit Due to Fuel Crisis

Cuba’s fuel crisis claims another victim: religious diplomacy. Cuban Catholic bishops have had to cancel their scheduled visit to the Vatican to meet with Pope Leo XIV, in yet another chapter of the consequences of the island’s energy collapse.

A Visit That Could Not Be

According to EFE news agency, Vatican sources confirmed that the “ad limina” visit—the traditional quinquennial meeting of bishops with the Pope—cannot take place “because current conditions do not allow it.”

The bishops of the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops (COCC) had planned:

• Dates: February 16-20, 2026
• Purpose: Audience with Pope Leo XIV
• Goal: Report on the state of the Church in Cuba

The cancellation comes after Cuba announced it had run out of aviation fuel, the result of US sanctions that have cut off Venezuelan and Mexican oil supplies.

The Pope Calls for Dialogue

On February 1, during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV addressed the situation:

“I have received with great concern news of increasing tensions between Cuba and the United States, two neighboring countries, and I join the message of the Cuban bishops to promote dialogue…”

The pontiff called for “sincere and effective dialogue to avoid violence and any action that could increase the suffering of the Cuban people.”

The Bishops Had Warned

A day before the Pope’s words, the COCC had expressed its “deep concern” about the worsening crisis, urging leaders to “seek paths of dialogue and structural changes.”

In their statement, the bishops noted: “Cuba needs changes and they are increasingly urgent, but it does not need any more anguish or pain.”

An Unprecedented Crisis

The cancellation of this diplomatic-religious visit adds to a growing list of consequences from the energy crisis:

• Canadian airlines have suspended all flights
• Blackouts of 10-12 hours daily
• GDP contracted more than 15% in recent years
• Mass migration at unprecedented levels

The Catholic Church has historically been a bridge between Cuba and the outside world. Visits by popes such as John Paul II (1998), Benedict XVI (2012), and Francis (2015) marked moments of hope and openness.

That Cuban bishops cannot even travel to meet with the Pope is yet another symbol of how deep the current crisis has become.

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The Catholic Church in Cuba includes approximately 6 million baptized members in a country of 11 million inhabitants.