HAVANA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls arrived in Cuba on Monday on a week-long visit to help prepare logistics ahead of a visit by Pope John Paul to the communist-ruled island in January.
Navarro-Valls told reporters at Havana airport the main focus of his trip would be logistics and technical issues involving the large numbers of foreign journalists expected to come to Cuba to cover the Pope's Jan. 21-25 visit.
``I am here to help the Cuban authorities and the Catholic church here prepare the infrastructure for the several thousand journalists that want to come to Cuba,'' he said.
Navarro-Valls added that such logistical concerns were common to all countries the Pope visits, since large numbers of journalists always cover his trips.
He added, that so far, arrangements being made for the Cuba visit were going well.
Piero Marine, who coordinates the Pope's religious services on his trips, also arrived in Havana on Monday. Marine will look at preparations being made in Santa Clara, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba -- towns which the Pope is to visit apart from Havana.
The Pope's trip to Cuba, the only Spanish-speaking country in Latin America he has not visited, is bound to present Cuban authorities with logistical problems they have rarely faced, including a massive media influx.
The Foreign Ministry's International Press Centre lists just 130 journalists accredited as working for foreign media and in residence on the island. Since not all of these work full-time, the authorities deal with a very reduced foreign press corps on a regular basis.
22:35 10-20-97