Pope Francis celebrated mass with tens of thousands of Cubans on Sunday in Havana’s Revolution Square, the political heart of Cuba, where the government stages its biggest rallies.
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“We don’t expect much from Francis because he comes here to talk about political matters between Cuba and the United States, not to resolve anything”.
Francis later met with Fidel Castro, who led Cuba’s 1959 revolution and then built a one-party state that improved health and education services for Cubans but also limits democratic freedoms and represses dissent.
The Pope will carry on his trip to the States, where he will visit Philadelphia, New York and Washington DC.
Francis landed Saturday at Havana’s global airport, where he was welcomed by Raul Castro with a speech in which the Cuban leader thanked the pontiff for his support in reestablishing relations with the United States, as well as his concern for social and environmental matters.
He added this process, in which the Vatican played a key role, as acknowledged by both Castro and US President Barack Obama, will require resolving problems and correcting injustices.
He told the young people to have the courage to think outside the box after hearing one of them say Cuba’s youth were united in their desire for “profound change” in the country.
Between 30-40 dissidents were detained to stop them attending papal events, a dissident human rights group said.
Pope Francis performs Mass on September 20, 2015 in Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba.
Jesus is straightforward in his reply: “‘Whoever wishes to be the first among you must be the last of all, and the servant of all, ‘” Francis said.
Raul Garcia, a taxi driver, said: “We’ve had two papal visits already and nothing changed for ordinary people”.
Pope Francis will deliver an open-air mass in Havana, Cuba, on Sunday as a part of his three-day trip to the communist nation.
“Look at the people, so many people”, said a teary-eyed Jean Pilkington as she watched the massive crowds gathered in Havana’s la Plaza de la Revolucion.
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The Obama administration also called on Congress to lift the embargo, and on Friday it unveiled a new round of executive actions that carve out exceptions to the sanctions, such as allowing USA businesses to open offices in Cuba, letting US residents send unlimited cash to Cubans and permitting virtually all US pleasure boats to travel to the island without a special license.
