Good Friday

===Cuba===
In an online article posted on [[Catholic News Agency]] by Alejandro Bermúdez on 31 March 2012, [[President of Cuba|Cuban President]] [[Raúl Castro]], with the [[Communist Party of Cuba|Communist Party]] and his advisers, decreed that Good Friday that year would be a holiday. This was Castro's response to a request made personally to him by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] during the latter's Apostolic Visitation to the island and [[Leon, Mexico|León]], [[Mexico]] that month. The move followed the pattern of small advances in Cuba's relations with the Vatican, mirroring Pope John Paul II's success in getting [[Fidel Castro]] to declare [[Christmas Day]] a holiday.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cuban-authorities-declare-good-friday-2012-a-holiday/ |title=Cuban authorities declare Good Friday 2012 a holiday |publisher=Catholic News Agency |access-date=23 April 2014 |archive-date=10 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710000459/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cuban-authorities-declare-good-friday-2012-a-holiday/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Both Good Friday and Christmas are now [[Public holidays in Cuba|annual holidays in Cuba]].