Pope pressures for change in Cuba at Havana Mass "I came to honour the Virgin of Charity as part of the celebration we are having for the pope's visit," said Ever Marin, 13, who was taking part in a procession for the first time. About a half million Cubans, on foot as well as packed onto state buses and trucks, thronged the square where revolution icon Fidel Castro famously gave countless addresses to masses of supporters beneath the Jose Marti monument. Benedict XVI was on Wednesday set to meet Fidel Castro, 85, at some point. Last week, Benedict said that Marxism "no longer corresponds to reality," and argued Cuba could be helped by looking at new models. But a dialogue about political and economic opening with Cuba can be beyond challenging because the parties have starkly different ideas of what freedom and democracy mean. Cuba's leadership dreads the idea of being part of the global economy which it sees as corrupt and unjust. The top-down economy is subsidised and propped up by key regional ally, socialist Venezuela. The Cuban government also insists democracy already exists on the island, and see the papal visit as a way of showing the world it is tolerant and open to religious expression. On Tuesday the pontiff's calls for openness prompted Cuban Vice President Marino Murillo to rule out any political opening. "In Cuba, there will be no political reforms," Murillo, who is in charge of carrying out the economic reform program ordered over the past few years by President Raul Castro, told reporters. Catholics account for just about 10 per cent of Cuba's population of about 11 million. The Church nonetheless has emerged as the most important non-state actor in Cuba, even mediating the release of prisoners. But more than a decade later, Cuba remains isolated and its state-run economy feeble, with most workers eking out a living on $20 a month. The pope - leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics - is seeking to bolster the Church's relationship with Cuban authorities, and to encourage new and renewed faith in the mainly secular island nation.