Pope Francis leads a Mass in the Plaza of the Revolution, in Holguin, Cuba, Monday, Sept. 21, 2015. Francis marked a personal anniversary Monday, the day as a teenager he decided to become a priest. AP
HOLGUIN, Cuba鈥擯ope Francis marked the anniversary Monday of the day he decided as a teenager to become a priest by pressing a subtle message to Cubans at a delicate point in their own history: Overcome ideological preconceptions and be willing to change.
READ: Pope Francis meets Fidel Castro after warning against ideology
Francis traveled to Cuba鈥檚 fourth-largest city, Holguin, and celebrated a Mass where Cuban rhythms mixed with church hymns under a scorching tropical sun.
Later in the day, he flew to Santiago for an evening visit to the shrine of Cuba鈥檚 patron saint, and on Tuesday he will arrive in Washington for the US leg of his visit to the two former Cold War enemies.
READ: Pope praises Cuban Church鈥檚 鈥榚fforts, sacrifices鈥�
Singing children and a small crowd waving Cuban and Vatican flags greeted Francis on his arrival, some crying out, 鈥淔rancis! Holguin is with you!鈥� Holguin鈥檚 Plaza of the Revolution was packed with an estimated 150,000 people for the Mass, many dressed in white to protect them from the sun.
Security agents didn鈥檛 appear to be letting members of the crowd get close to him. On Sunday, an apparent dissident hung on to the popemobile in Havana and seemed to be appealing to the pontiff before the man was dragged away.
In his homily in Holguin, a city of about 300,000, Francis pressed some of the subtle themes he has developed during this balancing act of a Cuban visit. He told the crowd of how Jesus picked a lowly and despised tax collector, Matthew, and instructed him without casting judgment to follow him. That act of mercy changed Matthew forever.
Francis told the Cubans that they, too, should allow themselves 鈥渢o slowly overcome our preconceptions and our reluctance to think that others, much less ourselves, can change.鈥�
鈥淒o you believe it is possible that a tax collector can be a servant?鈥� he asked on Day 3 of his visit to the island. 鈥淒o you believe it is possible that a traitor can become a friend?鈥�
It was a theme Francis sketched out Sunday night in an off-the-cuff encounter with young people. He encouraged them to dream big about what their life could be like, and not be 鈥渂oxed in鈥� by ideologies or preconceptions about others.
鈥淚f you are different than me, why don鈥檛 we talk?鈥� Francis asked the crowd. 鈥淲hy do we always throw rocks at that which separates us?鈥�
The message comes at a delicate moment of change on the island. Cuba and the US re-established diplomatic relations this year in a move Francis helped broker, and the communist country is undertaking modest free-market reforms that have opened some sectors of the economy to private enterprise.
Detente with the United States has raised hopes on both sides of the Florida Straits that the millions of families divided by the 1959 Cuban revolution will be reunited.
As a result, Francis has emphasized themes of reconciliation and looking beyond prejudice and ideologies.
鈥淔rancis is looking for peace among peoples and countries,鈥� said Yordani Monteagudo, a 24-year-old government worker who recorded Francis鈥� encounter with young people Sunday night and was still talking about it a day later. 鈥淚n his message he called on young people to not be afraid to dream. This makes you want to live, and build up this country.鈥�
Francis鈥� homily also reflected a very personal story of his own faith and willingness to embrace change.
On Sept. 21, 1953鈥�62 years ago Monday鈥攁 17-year-old Jorge Mario Bergoglio went to confession at his parish church in Buenos Aires. During the confession, he later wrote, he 鈥渞ealized God was waiting for me,鈥� and knew he was going to become a priest.
Bergoglio wouldn鈥檛 enter the seminary for several more years, but Sept. 21鈥攖he feast of St. Matthew鈥攈as remained a crucial reference point for the pope.
鈥淭his Gospel of St. Matthew, this experience of Jesus who looks him in the eye and calls him to conversion to follow him, is something that is absolutely fundamental to the spirituality and life of the pope,鈥� said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. 鈥淚t is something that is at the root of Bergoglio鈥檚 religious vocation.鈥�
The head of the opposition group Ladies in White said 22 of 24 members who wanted to attend Francis鈥� Mass in Havana on Sunday were prevented from going by Cuban security agents. And two well-known Cuban dissidents said agents detained them after the Vatican invited them to the pope鈥檚 vespers service at Havana鈥檚 cathedral.
Lombardi confirmed that some dissidents were invited to events to receive a greeting from the pope, but he said he didn鈥檛 know why it didn鈥檛 come to pass.
Asked if the Holy See would lodge an official protest, Lombardi demurred. He stressed that what was planned was just a 鈥減assing greeting,鈥� not an official meeting, and that it was set up at the last minute out of a 鈥渄esire to show an attention for everyone, including dissidents.鈥�
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