Pope Francis Will Celebrate Mass Next To Che Guevara Portrait

When Pope Francis visits Cuba in September , he will celebrate Mass in Havana's famous Plaza de la Revolución, above which a portrait of Che Guevara  hangs as a reminder of the country's revolutionary history.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI both delivered Masses  in Havana's square during their papacies, as well. But Francis's address will likely underline his growing influence  in the country -- especially given the role he played  in restoring diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba last year. 

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born less than 10 years after Ernesto Guevara in Argentina. The two men took very different life paths -- one became a Jesuit priest  and later Pope Francis; while the other became known as "Che"  and helped lead a Communist revolution in Cuba. 

Forty-eight years after the Guevara's death, his 118-foot sculptural portrait in Havana's square depicts the man as many Cubans see him -- a symbol of "revolutionary struggle."  The doctor and military leader met Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro  in 1954 and would go on to help him seize control of Cuba from dictator Fulgencio Batista. After leaving his post in 1965 and attempting to incite a similar revolution  in Bolivia, Guevara was captured by the country's army and executed  in 1967.

Pope Francis, then Bergoglio, was becoming ordained a priest  at the time, after spending his 20s studying chemistry and later suffering from a respiratory illness that cost him a lung.  

Pope Francis has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment  to the margins of society. On multiple occasions, the pontiff has spoken out against the negative impacts of capitalism  on the world's poor and working classes, leading some to accuse him of harboring Communist ideals . 

During his July visit to Bolivia, the pope criticized capitalist economic systems  in a speech delivered at a meeting of social justice advocates. “Let us not be afraid to say it: we want change, real change, structural change,” he urged the audience, saying capitalism “has imposed the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature."

Despite these sentiments, Francis criticized socialism  in his little-known book "Dialogues between John Paul II and Fidel Castro," though he has embraced Catholic social teaching  that emphasizes radical commitment to the people.

Austen Ivereigh, author of a biography of Francis called "The Great Reformer," explains that the pope's politics require a more subtle understanding.

"He sees Cuba's future as being a democratic government rooted in the Christian, humanist values of the Cuban pueblo," Ivereigh told Religion New Service  in 2014. "It's a kind of nationalist Catholic understanding of politics, neither left nor right, neither communism nor unadulterated market capitalism."

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