When the suitcase from Not Just Tourists arrived in northern Ghana, it was like Christmas for the local clinic doctor.

WASHINGTON – The retired Catholic archbishop of Havana called for dialogue between the United States and Cuba, and said it's the only way in which past and present problems can be solved.

TAMPA, Florida – Funded by a parish in Florida, a new Catholic church is being built in Cuba and is the first the island nation has seen in 60 years.

The relationship between Fidel Castro and the Cuban Catholic Church has been a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, though it has noticeably improved in recent years.

Fidel Castro is dead. Canada’s prime minister, whose father was an admirer and friend of the tyrant, is struck with grief, but it is not widely shared. Fidel’s death is an advance for Cuba. A more significant step forward will be when Fidel’s brother Raul, to whom power was handed over in 2006, follows his brother into eternity.

Fidel Castro, the Marxist revolutionary who ruled the Western Hemisphere’s only Communist state, acknowledged later in life that he was deeply influenced by Catholic teaching and welcomed a succession of popes to Cuba.

VATICAN CITY – After hearing of the death of Fidel Castro, former president and leader communist revolution in Cuba, late Friday evening, Pope Francis sent a telegram offering his prayers for the deceased and the entire nation.

Cuba is granting pardons to to 787 prisoners in response to Pope Francis' call for clemency during the Year of Mercy.

TORONTO – A blockbuster lineup headlined the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year, but among the lesser known films drawing attention was one featuring Pope Francis, Fidel Castro and Barack Obama.

VATICAN CITY – Fear nothing, break the chains that may bind you and bring hope to the world, Pope Francis told young people attending a special World Youth Day gathering in Cuba.

WASHINGTON – It was the end of a long day of baseball under the late May sun in Santa Clara, Cuba, and Marilyn Santos found an unpainted, dented, wooden baseball bat among the shiny blue and black ones she had brought from the United States.

WASHINGTON - As U.S. President Barack Obama offered a long-awaited plan to close the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, organizations advocating for the closure welcomed the news and called for an end of the policy of holding remaining detainees without charges.

HAVANA - At long last, Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow embraced, kissing each other three times.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO HAVANA - Making his 12th trip abroad, Pope Francis was accustomed to collecting interview requests, notes and gifts from the journalists who travel on the plane with him.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis is scheduled to have more than two hours alone with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in Cuba in addition to signing a declaration with the patriarch before flying on to Mexico for a Feb. 12-17 visit.