Pope to hold historic meeting in Cuba with Russian Orthodox Church head - Vatican

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi looks on during a news conference at the Vatican February 5, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet in Cuba next week in what could be a landmark step towards healing the 1,000-year-old rift between the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity.

The Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate announced on Friday that Francis will stop in Cuba on Feb. 12 on his way to Mexico to hold talks with Patriarch Kirill, the first in history between a Roman Catholic pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch.