Vatican says Cuban president to visit Pope Francis this week

The Vatican says Cuban President Raul Castro will visit Pope Francis this Sunday at the Vatican.

A brief statement from Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi late today said Francis would receive Castro in the Apostolic Palace for a "strictly private audience."

Lombardi noted that Castro has publicly thanked Francis for his role in bringing about the rapprochement between the United States and Cuba.

Francis is due to visit Cuba before he arrives in the US at the end of September.