Havana, September 14 (RHC)-- Thousands of Cubans will offer a warm welcome to Pope Francis, when he visits Havana and the eastern provinces of Holguín and Santiago de Cuba, from September 19th through the 22nd.

As part of the visit agenda agreed upon by Vatican authorities, the Cuban government and the country's Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pope Francis will travel to Holguin on September 21st, after completing a packed agenda of activities in Havana.

In Holguin, Cuba's third most populated city with over one million residents, the Bishop of Rome will officiate Mass at the “Calixto García Iñiguez” Revolution Square, inaugurated in 1979 and named after the Cuban hero, who participated in the three Cuban independence wars against Spanish colonialism.

From Holguin, the Pope will travel to Santiago de Cuba, where among many other activities, he will officiate Mass at the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre -- one of the most important worship locations in Cuba.