( CNN ) Washington . New York . Philadelphia . Havana ? The Vatican says Pope Francis may add another leg to his trip to the United States this September , visiting Cuba just months after he helped negotiate a diplomatic thaw between the two nations . The possibility , which would add a dimension of international intrigue to an already highly anticipated trip , was first reported Thursday by The Wall Street Journal . In response to reporters ' questions , Vatican spokesman the Rev . Federico Lombardi said in a statement , `` The Holy Father has taken into consideration the idea of making a stop in Cuba '' on his way to or from the United States this September . `` However , contacts with the Cuban authorities are still in too early a phase for it to be possible to regard this as a firm decision or an operative plan , '' Lombardi continued . Francis , the first pontiff to hail from Latin America , played a key role in the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States , earning praise from both President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro . The Pope made personal pleas to Obama and Cuban leaders in private letters , writing that the two nations should try to reset their relations after decades of friction . The Vatican also hosted talks between U.S. and Cuban delegations in October , where they hashed out aspects of a new trade policy and discussed the release of jailed American contractor Alan Gross , who was freed as part of the detente between the two countries . `` I want to thank His Holiness , Pope Francis , whose moral example shows us the importance of pursuing the world as it should be , rather than simply settling for the world as it is , '' Obama said in December as he announced the U.S. policy shift . Since his election in 2013 , Pope Francis has displayed a deep interest in international affairs . He repeatedly urged Western leaders not to bomb Syria , hosted a prayer service between Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the Vatican and waded into diplomatic controversy on Sunday by referring to the killing of 1.5 million Armenians a century ago as a `` genocide , '' a move that deeply upset Turkish leaders , who recalled their Vatican ambassador . The Pope is expected to continue his international activism this July with a trip to South America , where he will visit Ecuador , Bolivia and Paraguay . Just a few months later , in late September , Francis will visit Washington , where he will address Congress ; New York , where he will address the U.N. General Assembly ; and Philadelphia , where he will celebrate a public Mass that 's expected to draw more than 1 million people . In an interview with CNN 's Jake Tapper on Friday , Archbishop Charles Chaput , the Pope 's host in Philadelphia , said he 'd had n't heard about the potential for a papal visit to Cuba until he turned on the morning news . Two previous Popes have visited the Caribbean nation : St. John Paul II in 1998 and former Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 .
Pope Francis played key role in re-establishing diplomatic ties between Cuba and U.S. `` Contacts with the Turkish authorities are still in too early a phase , '' Vatican spokesman says .