Pope meets Fidel Castro during his visit in Cuba

Pope Francis has met Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, his brother President Raul Castro and celebrated Mass with tens of thousands of followers in Havana’s Revolution Square, as police prevented some dissidents from getting close to the pontiff.

Many Cubans appreciate the pope for his role in the secret talks that led to last December’s breakthrough with Washington, when Castro and US President Barack Obama vowed to normalise relations and end a half century of animosity.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Sunday’s meeting, which included Dr Castro’s wife and other family members, was “very relaxed, fraternal and friendly”.

The Holy Father presented Castro with copies of his two encyclicals, Lombardi said, as well as two books written by an Italian priest and one by a Jesuit priest. Francis will not be meeting with dissidents during his visit, sparking critiques from the political opposition who say they feel let down by an institution they believe should help push for greater freedom in Cuba.

Workers clean the Loma de la Cruz, a day before Pope Francis’ visit to Holguin in Cuba, September 20, 2015.

Pope Francis is also scheduled to meet Raul Castro in a formal meeting, and possibly his 89-year-old brother Fidel too.

While most Cubans are nominally Catholic, fewer than 10 per cent practise their faith and Cuba is the least Catholic country in Latin America.

Carl Court/Getty Images People wave Cuban and Papal flags as Pope Francis arrives to perform Mass in Revolution Square in Havana on Sunday.

In what government foes could see as criticism of party bureaucracy, the pope said Jesus’ apostles foolishly argued about rank and he compared it to “those who climb the ladder most quickly to take the jobs which carry certain benefits”. But they also hoped that during his visit with Raúl Castro later in the day, the Pope would push for improved human rights and democratization.

For some months now, we have witnessed an event which fills us with hope: “the process of normalizing relations between two peoples following years of estrangement”, Francis said on the tarmac of Jose Marti worldwide Airport.

Pope Francis arrives for Mass at Revolution Plaza in Havana on Sunday, where he will celebrate Massachusetts …

The Pope will leave Cuba on Tuesday afternoon and will continue his in trip in the USA , when he ” ll visit the Congress, the White House and United Nations.