Mimi Whitefield, Kevin Hall and Franco Ordonez, The Miami Herald
SANTIAGO, Cuba -- Tens of thousands of Cuban well-wishers greeted Pope Benedict XVI Monday on the first leg of his whirlwind tour of this communist island, a visit aimed at building on the spiritual gains that his predecessor, John Paul II, made during a historic visit 14 years ago.
Thousands lined the road from the airport to catch a glimpse of the pontiff as he passed by in his “popemobile,” and tens of thousands more gathered in Santiago’s Plaza of the Revolution Antonio Maceo for a papal Mass that began a half-hour late in the unrelenting afternoon sun.
But the hot weather and the delay did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm as the crowd jumped with joy and roared its approval as a statue of Cuba’s patron saint made its way through the crowd of a Vatican-estimated 200,000 people....
