When Pope Francis visits Cuba in September , he will celebrate Mass in Havana's famous Plaza de la Revolucin, above which a portrait of Che Guevara hangs as a reminder of the country's revolutionary history.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI both delivered Masses in Havana's square during their papacies, as well. But Francis's address will likely underline his growing influence in the country -- especially given the role he played in restoring diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba last year.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born less than 10 years after Ernesto Guevara in Argentina. The two men took very different life paths -- one became a Jesuit priest and later Pope Francis; while the other became known as "Che" and helped lead a Communist revolution in Cuba.

Forty-eight years after the Guevara's death, his 118-foot sculptural portrait in Havana's square depicts the man as many Cubans see him -- a symbol of "revolutionary struggle." The doctor and military leader met Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro in 1954 and would go on to help him seize control of Cuba from dictator Fulgencio Batista. After leaving his post in 1965 and attempting to incite a similar revolution in Bolivia, Guevara was captured by the country's army and executed in 1967.

Pope Francis, then Bergoglio, was becoming ordained a priest at the time, after spending his 20s studying chemistry and later suffering from a respiratory illness that cost him a lung.

Pope Francis has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to the margins of society. On multiple occasions, the pontiff has spoken out against the negative impacts of capitalism on the world's poor and working classes, leading some to accuse him of harboring Communist ideals .