1 day until Pope Francis is in DC

In Havana, the pope met Fidel Castro over the weekend in a 40-minute session at the former president’s home that the Vatican described as “informal and familial”, with an exchange of books and discussion about issues facing humanity.

Thousands of Cubans packed Havana’s Revolution Square to celebrate Mass with Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pope, erupting in cheers as the pontiff approached in his open-sided popemobile.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, asked Monday about the event, said, “We have certainly long made the case that the Cuban government, whether the pope’s on the island or not, should do a better job of protecting the human rights of their citizens”.

The Vatican, however, said that no official meeting had been planned with the Cuban dissidents.

In his prayer, Francis alluded to the splitting of the Cuban people into a group that has stayed on the island and exiles who have fled, mainly to the United States – a painful legacy of the two countries’ Cold War standoff.

Workers and schoolchildren were given the day off to attend the event, though it was clear that some in the crowd, unsure of how to pray, arrived just to get a glimpse of Pope Francis. It is also in the area where Cuban President Raul Castro and his brother Fidel were brought up.

Prominent Cuban dissidents were prevented from attending Pope Francis’ mass in Havana, as well as a meet- and-greet with the pontiff.

In his homily Monday, Francis pressed some of the subtle themes he has developed during this delicate balancing act of a visit, telling thousands in Holguin the story of how Jesus picked a lowly and despised tax collector, Matthew, and instructed him to follow him without casting judgment. Francis arrived in the sanctuary shortly after landing in the nearby eastern city of Santiago, his final stop in Cuba before heading to the USA on Tuesday.

The Catholic leader is holding historic meetings with that nation’s communist leaders.

It’s the way in which the pope handles those topics and others that impress and inspire many people. “The pope doesn’t tend to make explicitly political speeches, but he has some general principles and everyone is free apply their different experiences of life on them”, the Rev. Federico Lombardi said.

But he also urged both Cuba and the United States to “persevere on the path” of detente. It is the third largest providence in Cuba and features such holy sites as the Loma de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross), which Pope Francis was scheduled to visit later in the day.