A gift to the Pope - Cuba to release 3,500 prisoners ahead of Pope Francis' visit

Only non-violent offenders with good behavior will be released.

Havana has said it will release over 3,500 prisoners as a goodwill gesture to Pope Francis before his visit. The release will not include those convicted of violent or political offenses.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Ahead of Pope Francis' three-day visit next week, the communist government of Cuba has announced it will release 3,500 prisoners as a gesture for Pope Francis. Those released include people who are due for conditional release next year, people over age 60, those under age 20 with no prior offenses, and people whose convictions were neither political nor violent. Sickly prisoners will also be released. Drug traffickers will not be released.

During his visit, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in downtown Havana, and he is expected to meet with Fidel Castro, if he is in good health.

Pope Francis may be more influential in Cuba than previously assumed. It has recently come to light that he brokered the deal between Cuba and the United States that ended decades of diplomatic tension between the two countries.

Pope Francis will visit Cuba next week before traveling to the United States where he will conclude by saying Mass in Philadelphia. An estimated two million pilgrims are expected to crush the city just to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis and for a chance to pray with the pontiff.

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