Havana, August 1 (RHC)-- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has formally requested the Vatican's involvement in the Operation Miracle free eye-surgery program, run jointly by Cuba and Venezuela to assist low-income patients.

A news note issued by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry states that Minister Delcy Rodríguez handed over a formal invitation to the Papal Nuncio in Caracas, Aldo Giordano, requesting that the Vatican join the health program. Papal Nuncio Aldo Giordano will convey the invitation to Pope Francis.

An initiative of Revolution leader Fidel Castro and Bolivarian leader, the late Hugo Chavez, the Operation Miracle program was launched in July 2004. It has, thus far, benefited more than four million low-income patients, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean, who have improved or restored their eyesight thanks to surgical procedures.