Vatican City, Jul 27, 2019 / 08:04 am
Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, who served as Archbishop of Havana for more than 34 years, died Friday at the age of 82 after a months-long battle with cancer.
The Cuban cardinal oversaw the papal visits of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis to the island during his tenure, playing a principal role in the dialogue between the U.S. and Cuba brokered by Pope Francis in 2014.
Pope Francis offered his condolences and prayers for the eternal rest of the deceased in a telegram released by the Vatican July 27 and sent by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin the day prior.
Born in the diocese of Matanzas, Cuba in 1936, Ortega was the son of a laborer in a sugar factory before he entered the seminary one year into his studies in university.