[Costello:] This just into CNN. President Obama spoke with the Cuban president Raul Castro on Wednesday before President Obama left Washington on his way to Jamaica. Now, there's been talk about a possible informal meeting between the two today at a summit in Panama, but it looks they broke the ice a little earlier as the State Department considers removing Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsored terrorism. Rosa Flores is in Panama City. So the two men are where you are. Do you think they'll meet in person?
[Flores:] They definitely will meet in person, Carol, and that's because at the Summit of the Americas all 35 heads of state mingle in these events. So they're definitely going to rub shoulders. We're expecting President Obama and President Castro to have that symbolic handshake at some point in time. But you're absolutely right, CNN learning from the White House that President Obama and President Castro actually had a conversation before President Obama left Washington on Wednesday. Let's keep in mind he traveled to Jamaica before coming here to Panama, but all eyes here at the Summit of the Americas awaiting not a phone call but an actual visual, Carol, when we're going to see both heads of state in the same room. Now, we do know that President excuse me, that Secretary Kerry met with his counterpart, and that of course is Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, late yesterday for a bilateral meeting. And let me tell you something, a meeting of that level hadn't happened between both countries since 1958. So a lot of history here today, Carol, and we're going to be expecting that picture, that handshake, and we're going to bring it to you as soon as we see it.
[Costello:] All right. Rosa Flores, we appreciate it. Thanks so much. Tomorrow, Pope Francis will formally declare an extraordinary holy year. That hasn't happened since 1983. The holy year, which will start in December, is called the Jubilee of Mercy. As part of that mission of mercy, seven holy doors located in seven different cathedrals around the world will be opened to pilgrims of all faiths. I talked with one of the first cardinals appointed by Pope Francis, Cardinal Gerald Lacroix, who is Archbishop of Quebec. A celebration of faith in a year of jubilee. A Jubilee of Mercy as declared by Pope Francis. [on camera]: The Jubilee of Mercy. What does that mean to non- Catholics and Catholics alike?
[Cardinal Gerald Lacroix, Archbishop Of Quebecm:] Just saying the word mercy is a great gift. It's love that goes beyond what you see almost every day. It's love that includes forgiveness. It's love that goes all the way. And I think the world needs that today. Pope Francis giving us this holy year, this year of mercy, is like telling us Catholics, but the whole world, humanity, we need to go a step further and learn to love better. That's how God loves us.
[Costello:] Cardinal Gerald Lacroix, newly appointed by Pope Francis, is about to literally open the door to love, to redemption, in his church the Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame in Quebec City. Behold the holy door, one of seven in the world. It's the gateway to salvation opened every 25 years or by the Pope's decree. [on camera]: I got to touch it. It was pretty amazing. Then I thought to myself, but this is just a door.
[Lacroix:] A door is a door. A window is a window. But it's also quite a symbol. A door is something that says come on in. We're open.
[Costello:] People of all faiths are welcome to come through this door?
[Lacroix:] Absolutely. You don't need a passport. You don't need a certificate of baptism or belonging to a church. I saw last year people come from every walks of faith, even people who don't believe, just to experience this. This is a sacred place. A church is a place that celebrates God's presence and it's meaningful to a lot of people.
[Costello:] The door itself weighs more than 1,000 pounds, symbolic of a heavy burden. Once the door is opened, it's an invitation to a new beginning. Pass through it and your sins are absolved like Maria Garza's. She passed through the door last year when it was opened to celebrate the church's 350-year anniversary. [on camera]: Tell me about your life before you decided to walk through the door.
[Maria Garza, Walked Through Holy Door:] I had experienced the loss of my husband. I was living a very sad moment in my life. Basically I had no life. When I came to Quebec and I learned about the holy door, I decided to cross it. I had the hope. I am a believer. I kneeled down. I prayed a little. I pushed the door, very heavy door, and it reminded me of all of the heaviness I was leaving behind. I closed the door and I cried. It was a beautiful moment. Just recalling, I get very emotional. It was a moment of rebirth. I felt that I was being born again. And I just said, God, take me. I'm yours. Just tell me what I should do in my life to serve you better. I began to sing again, and I my life is full of joy and hope.
[Costello:] As Jesus said, I'm the door of the sheep. Come through me. Cardinal Lacroix will make that physically possible when he opens the door on December 8th. God, he says, will take care of the rest. And you are welcome to travel to Quebec City to the Basilica of Notre Dame and go through that door yourself. People of all faiths are welcome. And as the Cardinal said, even atheists can pass through and they will be welcome. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.