| Summary: | News of the role played by Francis, the first pope of the Americas, in the December 2014 rapprochement between Cuba and the United States raises a number of questions. The pope, at the request of both sides, called on Barack Obama and Raul Castro to overcome the obstacle of political prisoners which had hitherto hindered the talks. He then acted as guarantor of the agreement signed by both parties by hosting one of their final negotiating sessions at the Vatican. This article has several aims. It first purports to provide a first sketch of the papal mediation, and to explain the motivations leading Washington and Havana to turn to the Vatican, as well as the consequences of this mediation. It also aims at placing this intervention within the larger framework of the priorities of papal diplomacy − especially vis-a-vis Cuba − since John Paul II’s pontificate, which witnessed the first stages of a thaw between Rome and Havana.The Roman Catholic Church, now the regime’s privileged interlocutor, did agree to mediate between the two parties, after years of ignoring Washington’s requests to act as a catalyst for democratic transition on the island, along the lines of the role it had played in Poland in the 1980s. Yet, this does not mean a change in Vatican priorities. While Francis, through his actions, hopes to put the Holy See back at the center of the diplomatic stage, he thereby hopes to be able to promote concerns − such as defending Christians under threat, preserving for the church a space to carry out its mission and promoting dialogue between states − which have been central to the Church since it began playing an active role in international policy in the late 19th century.
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