Pope Francis visits Cuba
Pope Francis arrived in Cuba on Saturday, September 19, 2015, to spend three days visiting Havana, Holguín and Santiago, before traveling to the United States.
Here, Pope Francis waves to the crowd before the first mass of his visit to Cuba in Havana's Revolution Square, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis leads a mass in the sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity in El Cobre, on the last day of his visit to Cuba, September 22, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis waves to the crowd in Santiago de Cuba, September 22, 2015.
The popular Argentine pope celebrated his third and last mass on the island at the sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre.
Pope Francis in Cuba
People wait for Pope Francis to arrive in Santiago de Cuba, September 22, 2015.
In keeping with his avoidance of overtly political messages in Cuba, Francis, 78, used his third and last mass on the island to call for a "revolution of tenderness" and renewal of faith.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis looks out from the Hill of the Cross in Holguín, Cuba, September 21, 2015.
On a special personal anniversary -- September 21 was the day the Argentine pope said he first felt a calling from God --
Pope Francis celebrated mass in east Cuba on the last full day of a trip where he was praised for aiding rapprochement between Cuba and the U.S.
Two predecessors have visited Cuba, but Francis was the first pope to visit Holguín, capital of the region where the Castro brothers and leaders of Cuba, Fidel and Raul, grew up.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis talks with children at the sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity in El Cobre, Cuba, September 21, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis addresses Catholic faithful while leading mass in Holguín, September 21, 2015.
The pope arrived in eastern Cuba on Monday to celebrate the second mass of a trip that has earned him praise for aiding the Communist rulers' rapprochement with Washington, but during which he has steered clear of overt politics. He is the first pope to visit Holguín, capital of the province where the Castro brothers, Raul and Fidel, grew up.
Pope Francis in Cuba
People cheer as Pope Francis arrives to give a morning mass at the Calixto Garcia square in Holguín, in eastern Cuba, on September 21, 2015. Holguín, a cradle of Catholic faith on the island and also the home region of communist leaders Fidel and Raul Castro, is the only stop on the pope's eight-day, six-city tour of Cuba and the United States that has never received a papal visit.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis gives a morning mass at the Calixto Garcia square in Holguín on September 21, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
A choir sings during Pope Francis' open mass at Calixto Garcia Square in Holguín, on September 21, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis leads a mass for Catholic faithful in the city of Holguín, Cuba on September 21, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis (C) gives a thumbs up at the end of an open mass celebrated at Calixto Garcia Square in Holguin on September 21, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Catholic nuns attend a mass given by Pope Francis in the city of Holguín, Cuba, September 21, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis waves to the crowd in Holguín, Cuba, September 21, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis kisses a child as he arrives to lead a mass for Catholic faithful in the city of Holguín, Cuba, September 21, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
The Patron saint of Cuba the Virgin of Charity is brought into the Plaza de la Revolution before the arrival of Pope Francis in the square on September 21, 2015 in Holguín, Cuba.
Pope Francis is spending his second day of a three-day trip in Holguín, after arriving in Havana and before heading onto Santiago de Cuba.
Pope Francis in Cuba
People gather in the Plaza de la Revolution for the arrival of Pope Francis who will hold a mass in the square on September 21, 2015 in Holguín, Cuba.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis and Fidel Castro shake hands in Havana, Sunday, September 20, 2015. The two met for about 40 minutes in what the Vatican described as an informal meeting at which the 89-year-old Castro's wife, children and grandchildren were present.
The Pope gave Castro five books, including a copy of his two encyclicals. In turn, Cuba's former president gave Francis a book entitled, "Fidel and Religion."
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis and Cuba's President Raul Castro exchange gifts after their meeting in Havana, Cuba September 20, 2015.
During his flight to Havana, Pope Francis told reporters the world is "thirsting for peace," and spoke of the "wave of migration" with refugees fleeing wars and "escaping from death" in search of life.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis is presented with a cross by young people outside a cultural center in Havana, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis leads afternoon prayers with clergy in the Havana Cathedral during his first full day in Cuba, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
A general view of Havana's Revolution Square as Pope Francis gives the first mass of his visit to Cuba, September 20, 2015. While most Cubans are nominally Catholic, fewer than 10 percent practice their faith. The crowd was not as big as when St. John Paul II became the first pope to visit the island in 1998, but it drew people who seemed to genuinely want to be there and listen to Francis' message.
"This is very important for us," said Mauren Gomez, 40, who traveled some 155 miles from Villa Clara to Havana by bus, spending her time reciting the Rosary.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis urged Cubans to look out for one another and not just judge others based on what they are or are not doing.
He told them that those who want to be great must serve others, and not be served by them, and said Cubans should avoid "judgmental looks ... without looking to one side or the other to see what our neighbor is doing or not doing."
Many Cubans complain about the rigidity of a system in which virtually every aspect of life is controlled by the government, from cultural institutions to block-level neighborhood watch committees, in which people are excluded or lose benefits if they are perceived as being disloyal or unfaithful to the principles of the revolution.
That has eased in recent years, but it remains a problem in the eyes of many islanders and outside observers.
President Castro, President Fernandez
Cuba's President Raul Castro waves alongside Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as they arrive to attend the first mass of the visit to Cuba by Pope Francis in Havana's Revolution Square, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Two aides steadied the pope as he climbed the stairs to the altar, and again when he descended on September 20, 2015. Pope Francis occasionally suffers from sciatica.
Across from the square, on the Interior Ministry building, is a portrait of Che Guevara.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis kisses a child while riding past the Catholic faithful after holding the first mass of his visit to Cuba in Havana's Revolution Square, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis gives Communion at the end of the first mass of his visit to Cuba in Havana's Revolution Square, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis gives Communion at the end of the first mass of his visit to Cuba in Havana's Revolution Square, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
A woman holds a photo of Pope Francis during his visit in Havana on September 19, 2015, on the first leg of a high-profile trip that will also take him to the United States.
Pope Francis in Cuba
During the service September 20, 2015, Pope Francis begged Colombia's government and largest guerrilla army to end South America's longest-running conflict, saying they cannot allow another failure to derail peace efforts. Francis issued the appeal from Revolution Plaza in Havana, where peace talks underway for more than two years between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and representatives of Bogota aim to end a half-century of fighting.
He said: "May the blood shed by thousands of innocent people during long decades of armed conflict" sustain efforts to find a definitive peace."
Francis added: "Please, we do not have the right to allow ourselves yet another failure on this path of peace and reconciliation."
Pope Francis in Cuba
Security agents arrest a man who threw pamphlets during the first mass given by Pope Francis on his visit to Cuba, in Havana's Revolution Square, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
A man holds up a sign welcoming Pope Francis at the first mass of his visit to Cuba in Havana's Revolution Square, Sunday, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Catholic faithful await the arrival of Pope Francis for the first mass of his visit to Cuba in Havana's Revolution Square, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
A man walks with images of Pope Francis during the Pope's first mass in Cuba at Havana's Revolution Square, September 20, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
A woman shows images representing Jesus Christ as she waits for the arrival of Pope Francis from the airport in Havana, September 19, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
People stand near a sign with a photograph of Pope Francis outside the airport in Havana, September 19, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
People wait from their balconies for the arrival of Pope Francis from the airport in Havana, September 19, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Pope Francis is welcomed by Cubans during his journey from Jose Marti Airport to the Nunciature in Havana on September 19, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
Women wave from an apartment building as pope Francis approaches in his "popemobile" from the airport in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, September 19, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
A Cuban nun plays a guitar next to Catholic faithful during the arrival of pope Francis in Havana, September 19, 2015.
Pope Francis in Cuba
People wave Cuban and Vatican flags as Pope Francis walks with Cuba's President Raul Castro (R) after arriving at Jose Marti International Airport on September 19, 2015 in Havana, Cuba. Pope Francis is at the beginning of a three day visit to Cuba where he will meet President Raul Castro and hold Mass in Revolution Square before travelling to Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and El Cobre then onwards to the United States.
Pope Francis and President Castro
Pope Francis is greeted by Cuba's President Raul Castro during a welcoming ceremony at the airport in Havana, September 19, 2015.
The 78-year-old Argentine pontiff had facilitated a back channel for talks and sent missives to Presidents Castro and Obama in 2014.
Pope Francis in Cuba
The Vatican flag is seen next to the Cuban flag during Pope Francis's arrival ceremony at the airport in Havana September 19, 2015. Pope Francis began a nine-day tour of Cuba and the United States, where he will see both the benefits and complexities of a fast-evolving detente between the old Cold War foes that he helped broker.