HAVANA -- Pope Benedict met with Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro after saying mass in Havana Wednesday, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said.
The meeting comes toward the close of the pope's three-day visit to the communist-run island, during which the pontiff called for greater freedoms and a bigger role for the Roman Catholic Church in Cuban society.
Fidel Castro said Tuesday in one of his columns, or "Reflections," published online that he would meet briefly with the pope "with pleasure." Castro is now mostly retired but still occasionally writes columns and meets with visiting leaders.
According to the Vatican spokesman, this is the first time since his illness that Castro has gone out to call on a visitor. Heads of state usually come to see
Castro was dressed in a blazer with what looked like a scarf wrapped around his neck. He was accompanied by his wife and two adult sons.
According to the Vatican, the two men had an animated dialogue. They joked about their age, and the pope told Castro: "I'm old, but I still know how to do my job."
Castro told the pope he had been following his visit on television and asked about changes in the Catholic liturgy since his days in Jesuit schools, according to Lombardi.
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