Pope Francis left Cuba’s capital and headed to the eastern part of the island nation Monday, one day after meeting with the Castro brothers who have ruled Cuba since 1959.
The pontiff travels to Holguin, the province where Fidel and Raul Castro grew up.
The city of Holguin, 743 kilometres (462 miles) east of Havana, is known for a cross that has overlooked the town for centuries.
The Roman Catholic leader will celebrate Mass in front of tens of thousands of people in Holguin before heading on to Cuba’s second largest city, Santiago, where he will visit the shrine of the Virgin of Charity.
Meanwhile, the United States may be willing, for the first time, to accept a United Nations condemnation of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba without a fight, The Associated Press reported.
U.S. officials told the AP the Obama administration is weighing abstaining from the annual U.N. General Assembly vote on a Cuban-backed resolution demanding that the embargo be lifted. The vote could come next month.
No decision has yet been made, said four administration officials who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on sensitive internal deliberations and demanded anonymity. But merely considering an abstention is unprecedented.
Following through on the idea would send shock waves through both the United Nations and Congress.
Sunday Mass
Pope Francis, 78, celebrated Sunday Mass in Havana, warning Cubans of the dangers of ideology. He preached before a huge throng of worshippers who packed Havana’s historic Revolutionary Square.
“Christians are constantly called to set aside their own wishes and desires, their pursuit of power, and to look instead to those who are most vulnerable,” he said.
Francis paid a visit to former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, 89, at his home in Havana.
With Castro’s family looking on, the two met in what the Vatican called “a very informal and friendly environment.” They also exchanged books on religion as gifts.
Pope Francis later met Fidel’s brother and current Cuban President Raul Castro, 84.
The pontiff later held evening prayers with a group of priests and spoke to youths at a cultural center.
Francis and Vatican officials were the force behind months of secret talks between Havana and Washington in 2014.
The talks climaxed with last year’s announcements by Raul Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama to reestablish diplomatic ties for the first time in 53 years.
They have since opened embassies in Washington and Havana.
‘Fills us with hope’
Francis praised the détente between the two long-estranged neighbors as “an example of reconciliation for the entire world” that “fills us with hope.”
This is the third papal visit to Cuba since 1998, when Pope John Paul II came to the island, followed by Pope Benedict in 2012.
Francis wraps up his Cuban visit on Tuesday when the travels from Santiago to the United States.
His U.S. schedule includes a private meeting with Obama, speaking to a joint meeting of Congress, and addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
…
