HAVANA — Beneath looming images of Che Guevara and the Virgin Mary, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday stood in Revolution Square here, the heart of the Castro government, and issued a ringing call for “authentic freedom” in what is consistently ranked as one of the most repressive nations on earth.
“The truth is a desire of the human person, the search for which always supposes the exercise of authentic freedom,” Benedict said in his homily at an outdoor Mass here, a line greeted by smiles from some in the crowd. “Many, however, prefer shortcuts, trying to avoid this task.”
The Mass was the culmination of a three-day visit to Cuba meant to shore up support for the Roman Catholic Church here. With President Raúl Castro sitting in the front row — and a day after a top Cuban official said that Cuba would not pursue political change any time soon — Benedict also decried “those who wrongly interpret this search for the truth, leading them to irrationality and fanaticism; they close themselves up in ‘their truth,’ and try to impose it on others.”
During his visit, the pope’s message was clear: Spiritual formation can — and must — guide political formation, the faithful can be “at once a citizen and a believer,” and religious freedom can foster other freedoms. “This is why the Church seeks to give witness by her preaching and teaching,” he said, “both in catechesis and in schools and universities.”

The visit has highlighted the complex dual role of the pope as a spiritual guide and a political figure. After Mass on Wednesday, the pope had an “animated dialogue” with Fidel Castro at the Vatican embassy here, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, told reporters. He said the meeting was marked by “cordiality” and that Mr. Castro, whom Father Lombardi referred to as “Comandante Castro,” had asked the pope a range of questions, including what a pope does.
The two had made some jokes about their age, with the pope telling Mr. Castro, “‘I’m old, but I still know how to do my job,’” Father Lombardi said. He added that Mr. Castro had told the pope that he had been following the visit on television and asked Benedict about changes in the Catholic liturgy, which had changed since when he was young. Mr. Castro attended Jesuit schools as a boy.
Mr. Castro had presented two of his children to Benedict, Father Lombardi said. For his part, the pope spoke about his gladness to be in Cuba and the warm reception he had received, Father Lombardi said.
The State Department said it had conveyed a message to the pope through the Vatican nunzio in Washington, asking him to press for the release of Alan Gross, an American contractor imprisoned in Cuba for distributing for satellite equipment. Father Lombardi said that “humanitarian issues” had been raised in the course of the pope’s meetings in Havana but said he could not give further details.   
On Wednesday, Amnesty International said there had been reports that the Cuban government had arrested dissidents and blocked their cellphones before the Mass and called on the pope to denounce such actions.
The Vatican has said that in his short visit, the pope did not meet with any individual groups, in the Church or outside, despite requests from human rights groups that he meet with Cuban dissidents. In recent years, the Catholic Church in Cuba has helped broker the release of political prisoners.
As Benedict celebrated Mass here, the altar was placed beneath a billowing Cuban flag and a statue of José Martí, a 19th-century Cuban poet and revolutionary who fought for Cuba’s independence from Spanish rule in the 19th Century.
As she stood in the crowd, Julia Rios, 34, an unemployed cook, said she hoped the Mass would encourage more Catholics to become more observant. “It is important for my faith to express my faith with our spiritual leader,” Ms. Rios said. “This will bring others to the church and make more people go to Mass.”
But after the Mass, some in the crowd said they were taken aback by the pope’s homily and words they interpreted as barbs at the leadership here.
“That part I don’t want to talk about,” said one woman, as she scurried away, afraid to discuss the issue publicly.
Others said they appreciated the expanding religious freedom and agreed with the pope’s message.
“I loved all of it,” said Manuel Perez, 65, an engineer wearing a white Benedict T-shirt, as many in the crowd did. “The church should be opened up more.”
Before he arrived in Havana on Tuesday and had a private meeting with Raúl Castro, Benedict first visited Santiago, Cuba. There, he prayed at a shrine to the Virgin of El Cobre, Cuba’s patron saint, who is worshiped by people of many faiths because of the belief that she brings good fortune.
In his homily, Benedict also singled out Félix Varela, a 19th-century Cuban priest and educator who is on the path toward beatification. The pope said Father Varela had “taken his place in Cuban history as the first one who taught his people how to think,” adding that he “offers us a path to a true social transformation.”
Mass attendance is extremely low in Cuba. The 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II helped usher in more religious freedom — including the recognition of Christmas as a national holiday — but its chief result has been a rise in evangelical churches. In his meeting with Mr. Castro, Benedict asked Cuba to recognize Good Friday as a national holiday.
“It must be said with joy that in Cuba steps have been taken to enable the church to carry out her essential mission of expressing her faith openly and publicly,” Benedict said. “Nonetheless, this must continue forward, 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.”
After his homily, no applause rang out over the square. The crowds were unusually thin, certainly compared with the warm welcome Benedict usually receives in other countries. An estimated half a million people, for example, turned out for the pope’s Mass in Silao, Mexico, on Sunday.
Benedict, who turns 85 next month, has begun to show his age on this trip. On Wednesday, draped in ornate purple robes, worn during Lent as a symbol of the passion of Christ, the pope used a large ornate cross as a cane to walk toward the altar.
As Benedict traveled to the Mass in his white popemobile, the streets of downtown Havana were unusually empty. The government had declared the day a holiday in honor of his visit.
By  and              Published: March 28, 2012

Correction: March 28, 2012
An earlier version of this article incorrectly included Fidel Castro as among those whose images loomed in  Revolutionary Square.