On Eve Of Papal Visit, South Florida Pilgrims Land In Cuba

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – On the eve on Pope Francis' historic visit to Cuba, South Florida pilgrims were piling into the island country.

CBS4's Rick Folbaum was at the airport as a group traveling with the Archdiocese of Miami arrived.

You wouldn't ordinarily think of Archbishop Thomas Wenski as a tour guide. But he showed a real knack for letting the Florida delegation nowhere to go.

For others it was obvious, right into the arms of loved ones that they haven't seen in years – 90 miles away and yet a world apart.

It is a chance to bring Martha's son Felice Gorordo back to the country of his birth.

Martha is battling pancreatic cancer. This pilgrimage is even more significant for mother and son.

"This is very emotional for me. It is a dream come true. I have no words," she said.

Also landing was Tom Abraham who could not believe that he made it.

"It is spectacular. When I was a kid in 1964 during the Cuban Crisis I thought I would never come here," he said. "And to be here for the pope's visit, to see a mass, it is historic. This is fantastic."

They all boarded buses and headed downtown to take the same route that Pope Francis will take when he gets to Cuba Saturday afternoon.