Pope Francis, the real architect behind the U.S.-Cuban thaw

The thaw in relations between the U.S. and Cuba took the world by surprise, but perhaps one man was not as shocked as the rest.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - A senior official with the White House reported that Pope Francis made personal appeals to both President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro earlier this year, encouraging both leaders to end the icy relationship left over from the Cold War.

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The official revealed that Francis also followed up on the appeals with letters to both leaders, encouraging them to keep going forward with their efforts to normalize relationships.

"That (letter) gave greater impetus and momentum for us to move forward," the anonymous official said.

The Vatican has been making a major effort to reconcile the U.S. and Cuba, even hosting direct talks between the two nations.

During simultaneous addresses, both Castro and Obama acknowledged that Pope Francis played a major role in easing the restrictions between the two countries.

After the announcements, Pope Francis applauded both governments for making real, diplomatic changes "with the aim of overcoming, in the interest of the citizens of both countries, the difficulties which have marked their recent history."

In a statement, the Vatican revealed that it had invited Obama and Castro to "resolve humanitarian questions of common interest, including the situation of certain prisoners in order to initiate a new phase in relations between the two parties."

"The Holy See will continue to assure its support for initiatives which both nations will undertake to strengthen their bilateral relations and promote the well being of their respective citizens."

President Obama visited the Vatican in March of 2014, where he met the Pope and discussed the issue of relations with Cuba.

In October of this year, the Vatican received both U.S. and Cuban officials at the same time, and hosted a meeting between the representatives which allowed for negotiations to be reviewed and the formalization of prisoner exchanges.

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