Pope holds mass in Cuba

Francis will travel to Holguin today as part of his historic visit to Cuba.

Francis’ Monday homily also reflected a very personal story of his own faith and willingness to embrace change.

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. One corner of the church where Francis celebrated Mass on Tuesday is dedicated to offerings left for the Virgin, including votives and thousands of handwritten notes.

At the end of the Mass, the pope appealed to Colombia’s government and Marxist FARC guerrillas to ensure that almost three years of peace talks in Cuba are successful in order to end their “long night” of war.

Francis spoke beneath massive portraits of revolutionary leaders Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos built into the facades of state buildings.

A man poses for a photo as he arrives at the Plaza of the…

Holguin is known for a cross that has overlooked the city from a hilltop since a Franciscan monk hauled it up there in 1790 – though the original wooden version succumbed to old age and the 1950 replacement was destroyed by lightning.

Video of the encounter broadcast on Cuban state media showed the 89-year-old Castro chatting animatedly with Francis and shaking the pope’s hand, the pope standing in his white vestments and Castro sitting in a white button-down shirt and Adidas sweat top.

Throughout Cuba, people have been as interested in him for the role he played in helping to re-establish ties between the United States and Cuba as to the spiritual messages he delivers.

Lombardi said the Pope believes religious freedom in Cuba means more than the ability to worship freely.

The pontiff’s homily in the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre was the latest in a series of carefully worded critiques of the Cuban system during his four-day trip. Even though the meeting was not formally on the Pope’s schedule, the Vatican had already signaled that a meeting was possible.

Pope Francis with Raul Castro on September 20, 2015 in Havana.

Holguin’s Plaza of the Revolution was packed with an estimated 150,000 people for the Mass, and singing children and a small crowd waving Cuban and Vatican flags greeted Francis on his arrival, some crying out, “Francis!”

Jesus Christ “invites us slowly to overcome our preconceptions and our reluctance to think that others, much less ourselves, can change”, the Pope said.

It’s the pope’s third day on the island.

The meeting came shortly after the pope warned thousands of Cubans that as Christians they should “serve people, not ideas”, and adding that ‘service is never ideological’. Cuban President Raul Castro is one of many wearing wide-brimmed straw hats.

Security agents didn’t appear to be letting members of the crowd get close to the pontiff Monday.

“For some months now, we have witnessed an event which fills us with hope”, the Pope said. “There’s lying, robbery and there’s isn’t enough priority given to the family”. Francis is ending his time in Holguin by blessing Cuba’s fourth-largest city from the Hill…