Pope Francis meets with Fidel Castro during first Cuba trip

Among the faithful there was overwhelming gratitude for the pope’s role in the new relationship between Cuba and the U.S.

Francis, who has provided a crucial back-channel for messages between Havana and Washington over the past two years, will fly from Cuba to the United States on Tuesday. Fidel wrote a dedication in it: “For Pope Francis, on occasion of his visit to Cuba, with the admiration and respect of the Cuban people“.

Francis served as a mediator during months of secret negotiations that led to the resumption of relations between the United States and Cuba. Speaking in his homily Francis called on Cubans to heed Jesus Christ’s invitation to overcome resistance to change.

Francis is the third pope to visit the communist country in 17 years. During his confession, he later wrote, he “realized God was waiting for me” and made a decision to enter the priesthood. He stressed that what was planned was just a “passing greeting”, not an official meeting, and that it was set up at the last minute out of a “desire to show an attention for everyone, including dissidents”.

Some pilgrims waited for hours in the tropical heat, eager to hear the first Latin American pope speak to them in Spanish, their common language.

The pope, who was busy grasping the outstretched hands of well-wishers on the other side of his vehicle, did not appear to notice the incident.

Francis urged presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro to persevere in building normal ties as he launched a 10-day tour of the former Cold War foes.

The poems were penned by a Jesuit priest who escaped Cuba in 1959 after Fidel Castro took power.

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. He echoed that call again to young people gathered at a Catholic community center in the shadows of Old Havana’s cathedral.

A priest holds up the Gospel book as Pope Francis arrives for Mass…

Pope Francis arrived on Sunday at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, where he paid a courtesy visit to Cuban President Raul Castro.

The meeting, at Castro’s home, came after the pontiff delivered the largest papal mass ever – an estimated 200,000 people were attendance – at Havana’s Revolution Square on Sunday morning, Lombardi said.

“The government of Cuba is finally showing signs of intelligence and recognizing it has committed many errors, as much in the area of religion as in the politics between the United States and Cuba”, he said.