Not a church, not a monastery, not an apostolic palace or a patriarchal curia. Pope Francis and Russia’s Patriarch Kirill are to meet in a room at Havana’s international airport. But, as Alexander Shchipkov, one of Kirill’s closest collaborators pointed out, “the airport is a symbolic crossroads. And when people meet at a crossroads, their encounters are brief, yet sincere and profound”. At a crossroads, people tend to speak “frankly” about “the things of greatest importance”.

In the joint declaration signed by Francis and Kirill, the two express their common concern for Christians undergoing persecution and they ask the international community to help them. They also focus on migrants and refugees and announce a common commitment to combating poverty. They establish a clear distinction between family and other forms of cohabitation and make an appeal for life: “blood of the unborn cries out to God”. The two religious leaders also call for Christian unity for the good of humanity.

The first, historic meeting between a Pope and a Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church does not come from nowhere. Both the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate and the Holy See have been working on such an event for decades.

In at least three cases under recent Popes, such a meeting seemed about to take place. Once under St. John Paul II and twice under Benedict XVI. But then nothing happened.

Why, then, did the February 11 meeting suddenly become possible? There are at least four different reasons.

The need to counter anti-Christian persecution

The Pope is going to Mexico from 12 to 18 February as a “missionary of mercy and peace” and to embrace “the suffering” in particular. Francis himself explained this in a video-message to Mexicans.

Pope Francis has made urgent appeal for Syrian peace talks, political solution
At Sunday's Angelus, February 7, Francis prayed for a political solution to the conflict and for civilian populations. But he also spoke about the “intolerable shame” of human trafficking and “a renewed commitment in favour of human life from conception to natural death".

Pope Francis strongly called on the international community to find a way to facilitate negotiations among the warring parties in Syria, saying he is watching the struggles of civilians there with much worry.

One of the points in the joint declaration that is to be signed in Cuba on February 12 is “the problem of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, secularisation, the defence of life, marriage and the family and other issues of common interest”. Fr. Hyacinthe Destivelle of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity said this in a statement to Vatican Radio.

The Pope and the Patriarch of Moscow are to meet in Cuba before Bergoglio’s visit to Mexico, which begins next week: the Vatican and the Russian Patriarchate both announced the news at the same time.

At a press conference in London, Mgr. Paul R. Gallagher said the Catholic Church is at the forefront of these efforts, adding that aid must be given without discrimination and that Christians are among the worst hit minorities in the Middle East.

Pope Francis has sent a powerful and clear message to Xi Jinping’s China. A message of friendship. He urges the Chinese people to be calm, to have faith in their great history, without beating themselves up about past tragedies He repeats to them that the world looks to China’s wisdom and civilization. The Bishop of Rome is hopeful that relations between the People’s Republic of China and the rest of the international community will contribute to the building of a peaceful future.

The Week of Unity coincided this year with the Year of Mercy, thus we can rename it as "the Week of Merciful Unity "or "the Mercy Leading to Unity".