Pope Francis

He wrote that "the church offers a path forward to peace, justice and true liberty," and added, "Not everything will be the same after he leaves."

Millions of Cubans hope those prove true when their author flies into Havana on Saturday as Pope Francis.

Across the island, Cubans are excitedly looking at the pope's 10-day trip to Cuba and the United States through the lens of his role as the mediator of detente between the two countries. 

The extraordinary gesture on Sept. 22 is just the beginning of the pomp and protocol that Washington will put on display to welcome the popular leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics and the head of Vatican City on his first U.S. visit.

The next day, Francis will be just the third pope to visit the White House, being greeted as most heads of state are, with his car pulling slowly up the South Lawn's driveway to the spot where a red carpet will be rolled out and Obama and his wife, Michelle, will be waiting.

The Council of State announced in state media Friday morning that the prisoners to be freed include a mix of women, people younger than 20, inmates suffering from illnesses and people whose terms were coming to an end next year.

The government won't release people convicted of serious crimes like murder, child sexual abuse or violations of state security. The final category is often applied to people considered political prisoners by Cuban and international human rights groups.

The Vatican on Thursday confirmed the Nov. 25-30 trip.

Francis had previously said he hoped to visit the three countries but that organizational problems had held up final confirmation.

Francis is heading to Cuba and the United States next week. With the Africa trip, he will have visited all continents except Oceania in his first three years as pope.

The White House says the Obamas will make the rare trip to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, just outside Washington, on Sept. 22 to formally welcome Francis on his first-ever U.S. visit.

The pontiff is scheduled to arrive in Washington after stops in Cuba.

In the U.S., Francis will meet privately with Obama, becoming just the third pope to ever visit the White House.

On Sept. 24, he heads to the Capitol to become the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of Congress.

Francis will release the new rules after a Vatican-appointed commission of canon lawyers spent the past year studying ways to simplify the process while safeguarding the principle of the indissolubility of marriage, the Vatican said.

Catholic doctrine holds that a church marriage is forever. An annulment is a judgment by a church tribunal that the marriage had some inherent defect from the start. Reasons vary, including that the couple never intended their marriage to last or that one of the spouses didn't want children.

Francis cited Mother Teresa, the European-born nun who cared for the poorest in India, in making his appeal in remarks to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square.

"Faced with the tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees who are fleeting death by war and by hunger, and who are on a path toward a hope for life, the Gospel calls us to be neighbors to the smallest and most abandoned, to give them concrete hope," Frances said.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan proudly displayed the armchair Wednesday at the Garden.

It has a light brown finish with a darker mahogany trim and a white cushioned seat, back and arms.

The pope will wear green vestments and preach in English and Spanish on Sept. 25. About 200 deacons and 150 volunteers will assist him.

Francis on Sunday invited faithful in St. Peter's Square in Rome to pray silently with him for migrants who die "on their terrible journeys." He also prayed that God would "help us to cooperate effectively to impede these crimes, which offend the entire human family." Francis noted Vienna's cardinal was in the square.

Four men are being investigated by Hungarian authorities in the human trafficking case.

The Vatican announced Saturday that Dr. Fabrizio Soccorsi is taking over as Pope Francis' personal physician. His predecessor, Dr. Patrizio Polisca, a cardiologist, will remain the physician to Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.

Soccorsi will accompany the 78-year-old pope on his Sept. 19-28 trip to the U.S. and Cuba.