VATICAN CITY --  Pope Francis will have an historic meeting with Russian Orthodox patriarch Kirill in a move towards greater reconciliation between the two churches, the Vatican announced Friday. 

 The pontiff is due to meet the Russian Patriarch on next Friday Feb. 12 in Cuba, during a stopover on his visit to Mexico, where the Patriarch will also be on an official visit.

 According to a joint statement released by the Holy See and the Patriarchate of Moscow, the meeting will include "a personal conversation at Havana’s José Martí International Airport, and will conclude with the signing of a joint declaration."

 The unprecedented meeting will be "the first in history," a significant step towards greater unity between the Catholic and Orthodox churches after a split between the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity in 1054 led to a 1,000 year rift.

 The statement says that the meeting "will mark an important stage in relations between the two Churches," and avows that "it will also be a sign of hope for all people of good will."

 The historic visit marks the culmination of years of preparation and much speculation. Symbolically, it will take place one day after the third anniversary of the announcement of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, on Feb. 11 2013.

 The meeting will hold considerable significance at a time of strained relations between Moscow and the West, under increased pressure due to events in Ukraine and the conflict in Syria where Russia has recently intervened. The two religious leaders, say Vatican officials, represent "two of the great but long-separated traditions of Christianity, that of the Latin West (Catholic) and that of the Greek East (Orthodox, in its Russian form)."

 The location of the meeting, Cuba, is also a symbolic one, nearly becoming the site of a nuclear confrontation between the US and the USSR in 1962 during the Cold War. It will now represent a place of reconciliation and unity for the two leaders.

 Moscow is the largest of the Orthodox Churches, and holds almost two-thirds of the world's estimated 200 million Orthodox Christians under its jurisdiction.

 The joint statement referred to the event as a turning point in the relationship between the two Churches. "May the meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill lead to deeper mutual understanding, to greater friendship between our separated Churches, and may it therefore produce good fruits: greater unity, steps toward peace, and greater justice for all who suffer oppression."

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