During the Mass, —attended by more than 300,000 people, according to
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi— the Pope acknowledged that the
Cuban people fully enjoys the right to religious freedom.

“It must be said with joy that in Cuba steps have been taken to enable the
Church to carry out its essential mission of expressing its faith openly
and publicly. Nonetheless, this must continue forwards, and I wish to
encourage the country’s government authorities to strengthen what has
already been achieved and advance along this path of genuine service to
the true good of Cuban society as a whole,” he pointed out.

The pontiff expressed his hope that the Church in Cuba can resume work in
education following the example of Cuba’s 19th-century educator and
Servant of God Fr. Felix Varela.

“Father Varela offers us a path to a true social transformation: to form
virtuous men and women in order to forge a worthy and free nation,” he said.

In his homily, Benedict XVI highlighted that “Cuba and the world need
change, but this will occur only if each one is in a position to seek the
truth and chooses the way of love, sowing reconciliation and fraternity.”

“Dear friends, do not hesitate to follow Jesus Christ (…) Faith and reason
are necessary and complementary in the pursuit of truth (…) Let us walk in
the light of Christ who alone can destroy the darkness of error, and let
us beg him that, with the courage and strength of the saints, we may be
able, without fear or rancor but freely, generously and consistently, to
respond to God,” His Holiness concluded.