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| Pope Francis journeys to Washington to begin historic US visit – live updates | Pope Francis journeys to Washington to begin historic US visit – live updates |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| 1.52pm BST13:52 | |
| My colleague Richard Nelsson hastaken journey through 50 years of papal visits to the US, as covered by the Guardian. | |
| Related: Fifty years of papal visits to the United States: from the Guardian archive | |
| 1.45pm BST13:45 | |
| Reporters on the trail have noted on Twitter that, at previous masses, many didn’t know the responses to various parts of the liturgy (when the priest says “the lord be with you”, the congregation responds “and with your spirit” and so on.) | |
| That doesn’t seem to be the case at El Cobre. The congregation is responding and praying enthusiastically with the pontiff. Raúl Castro is there too; maybe it’s all coming back to him and he’ll make good on his promise to return to the Catholic church? | |
| Pope calls for revolution of love and tenderness on last day in Cuba pic.twitter.com/G9SrzuRVZF | |
| Updated at 1.49pm BST | |
| 1.35pm BST13:35 | |
| Can Pope Francis help US politics “rise from the partisan swamp of Washington to higher moral ground”? Many US progressives hope so. | |
| My colleague Ed Pilkington reports that pro-immigrant groups, anti-inequality campaigners and environmentalists have big expectations for the pope’s US tour. Read the full report below: | |
| Related: US progressives hope Pope Francis can bring moral force to key issues | |
| 1.30pm BST13:30 | |
| #PopeInCuba:"We want to be a Church which goes forth to build bridges, to break down walls…” (Castro’s Cuba quakes) pic.twitter.com/nMFXKL3npK | |
| 1.25pm BST13:25 | 1.25pm BST13:25 |
| Pope Francis calls suffering Cubans to remember tradition kept alive by women | Pope Francis calls suffering Cubans to remember tradition kept alive by women |
| Adam Brereton | Adam Brereton |
| Pope Francis continued his theme of expressly apolitical addresses in his homily in El Cobre, but he’s doing something quite subtle: calling Cuba back to the time before Communism. | |
| Francis quoted from a letter, written to Benedict XV (Giacomo della Chiesa) by the Cuban people prior his 1916 decision to make the Virgin of Cobre the country’s patroness, which said “neither disgrace nor poverty were ever able to crush the faith”. | |
| That faith, Francis said, “was kept alive thanks to all those grandmothers who fostered, in the daily life of their homes, the living presence of God ... grandmothers, mothers, and so many others who with tenderness and love were signs of visitation, valor and faith for their grandchildren, in their families”. | That faith, Francis said, “was kept alive thanks to all those grandmothers who fostered, in the daily life of their homes, the living presence of God ... grandmothers, mothers, and so many others who with tenderness and love were signs of visitation, valor and faith for their grandchildren, in their families”. |
| Updated at 1.29pm BST | |
| 1.18pm BST13:18 | 1.18pm BST13:18 |
| Pope Francis: the Cuban people were formed by suffering and privation – full text | Pope Francis: the Cuban people were formed by suffering and privation – full text |
| Pope Francis’s homily at El Cobre: | Pope Francis’s homily at El Cobre: |
| The Gospel we have just heard tells us about something the Lord does every time he visits us: he calls us out of our house. These are images which we are asked to contemplate over and over again. God’s presence in our lives never leaves us tranquil: it always pushes to do something. When God comes, he always calls us out of our house. We are visited so that we can visit others; we are encountered so as to encounter others; we receive love in order to give love. | The Gospel we have just heard tells us about something the Lord does every time he visits us: he calls us out of our house. These are images which we are asked to contemplate over and over again. God’s presence in our lives never leaves us tranquil: it always pushes to do something. When God comes, he always calls us out of our house. We are visited so that we can visit others; we are encountered so as to encounter others; we receive love in order to give love. |
| In the Gospel we see Mary, the first disciple. A young woman of perhaps between 15 and 17 years of age who, in a small village of Palestine, was visited by the Lord, who told her that she was to be the mother of the Savior. Mary was far from “thinking it was all about her”, or thinking that everyone had to come and wait upon her; she left her house and went out to serve. | In the Gospel we see Mary, the first disciple. A young woman of perhaps between 15 and 17 years of age who, in a small village of Palestine, was visited by the Lord, who told her that she was to be the mother of the Savior. Mary was far from “thinking it was all about her”, or thinking that everyone had to come and wait upon her; she left her house and went out to serve. |
| First she goes to help her cousin Elizabeth. The joy which blossoms when we know that God is with us, with our people, gets our heart beating, gets our legs moving and “draws us out of ourselves”. It leads us to take the joy we have received and to share it in service, in those “pregnant” situations which our neighbors or families may be experiencing. The Gospel tells us that Mary went in haste, slowly but surely, with a steady pace, neither too fast nor so slow as never to get there. Neither anxious nor distracted, Mary goes with haste to accompany her cousin who conceived in her old age. | First she goes to help her cousin Elizabeth. The joy which blossoms when we know that God is with us, with our people, gets our heart beating, gets our legs moving and “draws us out of ourselves”. It leads us to take the joy we have received and to share it in service, in those “pregnant” situations which our neighbors or families may be experiencing. The Gospel tells us that Mary went in haste, slowly but surely, with a steady pace, neither too fast nor so slow as never to get there. Neither anxious nor distracted, Mary goes with haste to accompany her cousin who conceived in her old age. |
| Henceforth this was always to be her way. She has always been the woman who visits men and women, children, the elderly and the young. She has visited and accompanied many of our peoples in the drama of their birth; she has watched over the struggles of those who fought to defend the rights of their children. And now, she continues to bring us the Word of Life, her Son, our Lord. | Henceforth this was always to be her way. She has always been the woman who visits men and women, children, the elderly and the young. She has visited and accompanied many of our peoples in the drama of their birth; she has watched over the struggles of those who fought to defend the rights of their children. And now, she continues to bring us the Word of Life, her Son, our Lord. |
| These lands have also been visited by her maternal presence. The Cuban homeland was born and grew, warmed by devotion to Our Lady of Charity. As the bishops of this country have written: “In a special and unique way she has molded the Cuban soul, inspiring the highest ideals of love of God, the family and the nation in the heart of the Cuban people”. | These lands have also been visited by her maternal presence. The Cuban homeland was born and grew, warmed by devotion to Our Lady of Charity. As the bishops of this country have written: “In a special and unique way she has molded the Cuban soul, inspiring the highest ideals of love of God, the family and the nation in the heart of the Cuban people”. |
| This was what your fellow citizens also stated a hundred years ago, when they asked Pope Benedict XV to declare Our Lady of Charity the Patroness of Cuba. They wrote that “neither disgrace nor poverty were ever able to crush the faith and the love which our Catholic people profess for the Virgin of Charity, for whom, in all their trials, when death was imminent or desperation was at the door, there arose, like a light scattering the darkness of every peril, like a comforting dew ... the vision of that Blessed Virgin, utterly Cuban and loved as such by our cherished mothers, blessed as such by our wives.” | This was what your fellow citizens also stated a hundred years ago, when they asked Pope Benedict XV to declare Our Lady of Charity the Patroness of Cuba. They wrote that “neither disgrace nor poverty were ever able to crush the faith and the love which our Catholic people profess for the Virgin of Charity, for whom, in all their trials, when death was imminent or desperation was at the door, there arose, like a light scattering the darkness of every peril, like a comforting dew ... the vision of that Blessed Virgin, utterly Cuban and loved as such by our cherished mothers, blessed as such by our wives.” |
| In this shrine, which keeps alive the memory of God’s holy and faithful pilgrim people in Cuba, Mary is venerated as the Mother of Charity. From here she protects our roots, our identity, so that we may never stray to paths of despair. The soul of the Cuban people, as we have just heard, was forged amid suffering and privation which could not suppress the faith, that faith which was kept alive thanks to all those grandmothers who fostered, in the daily life of their homes, the living presence of God, the presence of the Father who liberates, strengthens, heals, grants courage and serves as a sure refuge and the sign of a new resurrection. Grandmothers, mothers, and so many others who with tenderness and love were signs of visitation, valor and faith for their grandchildren, in their families. They kept open a tiny space, small as a mustard seed, through which the Holy Spirit continued to accompany the heartbeat of this people. | In this shrine, which keeps alive the memory of God’s holy and faithful pilgrim people in Cuba, Mary is venerated as the Mother of Charity. From here she protects our roots, our identity, so that we may never stray to paths of despair. The soul of the Cuban people, as we have just heard, was forged amid suffering and privation which could not suppress the faith, that faith which was kept alive thanks to all those grandmothers who fostered, in the daily life of their homes, the living presence of God, the presence of the Father who liberates, strengthens, heals, grants courage and serves as a sure refuge and the sign of a new resurrection. Grandmothers, mothers, and so many others who with tenderness and love were signs of visitation, valor and faith for their grandchildren, in their families. They kept open a tiny space, small as a mustard seed, through which the Holy Spirit continued to accompany the heartbeat of this people. |
| “Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness” (Evangelii Gaudium, 288). | “Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness” (Evangelii Gaudium, 288). |
| Generation after generation, day after day, we are asked to renew our faith. We are asked to live the revolution of tenderness as Mary, our Mother of Charity, did. We are invited to “leave home” and to open our eyes and hearts to others. Our revolution comes about through tenderness, through the joy which always becomes closeness and compassion, and leads us to get involved in, and to serve, the life of others. Our faith makes us leave our homes and go forth to encounter others, to share their joys, their hopes and their frustrations. Our faith, “calls us out of our house”, to visit the sick, the prisoner and to those who mourn. It makes us able to laugh with those who laugh, and rejoice with our neighbors who rejoice. Like Mary, we want to be a Church which serves, which leaves home and goes forth, which goes forth from its chapels, its sacristies, in order to accompany life, to sustain hope, to be a sign of unity. | Generation after generation, day after day, we are asked to renew our faith. We are asked to live the revolution of tenderness as Mary, our Mother of Charity, did. We are invited to “leave home” and to open our eyes and hearts to others. Our revolution comes about through tenderness, through the joy which always becomes closeness and compassion, and leads us to get involved in, and to serve, the life of others. Our faith makes us leave our homes and go forth to encounter others, to share their joys, their hopes and their frustrations. Our faith, “calls us out of our house”, to visit the sick, the prisoner and to those who mourn. It makes us able to laugh with those who laugh, and rejoice with our neighbors who rejoice. Like Mary, we want to be a Church which serves, which leaves home and goes forth, which goes forth from its chapels, its sacristies, in order to accompany life, to sustain hope, to be a sign of unity. |
| Like Mary, Mother of Charity, we want to be a Church which goes forth to build bridges, to break down walls, to sow seeds of reconciliation. Like Mary, we want to be a Church which can accompany all those “pregnant” situations of our people, committed to life, to culture, to society, not washing our hands but rather walking with our brothers and sisters. | Like Mary, Mother of Charity, we want to be a Church which goes forth to build bridges, to break down walls, to sow seeds of reconciliation. Like Mary, we want to be a Church which can accompany all those “pregnant” situations of our people, committed to life, to culture, to society, not washing our hands but rather walking with our brothers and sisters. |
| This is our most valuable treasure (cobre), this is our greatest wealth and the best legacy we can give: to learn like Mary to leave home and set out on the path of visitation. And to learn to pray with | This is our most valuable treasure (cobre), this is our greatest wealth and the best legacy we can give: to learn like Mary to leave home and set out on the path of visitation. And to learn to pray with |
| Mary, for her prayer is one of remembrance and gratitude; it is the canticle of the People of God on their pilgrimage through history. It is the living reminder that God passes through our midst; the perennial memory that God has looked upon the lowliness of his people, he has come the aid of his servant, even as promised to our forebears and their children for ever. | Mary, for her prayer is one of remembrance and gratitude; it is the canticle of the People of God on their pilgrimage through history. It is the living reminder that God passes through our midst; the perennial memory that God has looked upon the lowliness of his people, he has come the aid of his servant, even as promised to our forebears and their children for ever. |
| 1.13pm BST13:13 | 1.13pm BST13:13 |
| Catholic spirituality is replete with instances of the Virgin Mary appearing and speaking to people – especially to children. Many readers will be familiar with Lourdes (France), Medjugorje (Croatia) and Fatima (Portugal). | Catholic spirituality is replete with instances of the Virgin Mary appearing and speaking to people – especially to children. Many readers will be familiar with Lourdes (France), Medjugorje (Croatia) and Fatima (Portugal). |
| Our Lady of Charity of Cobre is another popular story. In the early 1600s, some Indigenous and slave children found a statuette of the Virgin Mary floating in the ocean. Because the town’s church was dedicated to Saint James they put the statue in a hut. It did a disappearing act, so the story goes, and was found on the hill above the town. | Our Lady of Charity of Cobre is another popular story. In the early 1600s, some Indigenous and slave children found a statuette of the Virgin Mary floating in the ocean. Because the town’s church was dedicated to Saint James they put the statue in a hut. It did a disappearing act, so the story goes, and was found on the hill above the town. |
| After the town’s slaves were freed the statuette of the Virgin displaced the colonial symbols above the altar. She was declared the patroness of Cuba in 1916. | After the town’s slaves were freed the statuette of the Virgin displaced the colonial symbols above the altar. She was declared the patroness of Cuba in 1916. |
| 1.03pm BST13:03 | 1.03pm BST13:03 |
| Francis is increasingly known as a people’s pope and this mass is about as popular as it gets: the people are singing along with the psalms to much simpler tones than we’ve seen at other masses on this tour. It’s a local service, really. | Francis is increasingly known as a people’s pope and this mass is about as popular as it gets: the people are singing along with the psalms to much simpler tones than we’ve seen at other masses on this tour. It’s a local service, really. |
| There are people outside watching on a big screen too. | There are people outside watching on a big screen too. |
| 12.55pm BST12:55 | 12.55pm BST12:55 |
| And here he is ... The pope is arriving now in the Minor Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre (take a breath ... ) to say mass. | And here he is ... The pope is arriving now in the Minor Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre (take a breath ... ) to say mass. |
| Our Lady of Charity of Cobre is a popular Marian devotion, meaning a kind of special reverence paid to the Virgin Mary, who holds pride of place in the Catholic church as the mother of God. | Our Lady of Charity of Cobre is a popular Marian devotion, meaning a kind of special reverence paid to the Virgin Mary, who holds pride of place in the Catholic church as the mother of God. |
| Apluaden entrada del #PapaFrancisco en Basílica Menor del Santuario Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre. pic.twitter.com/TX1JYcJeDW | Apluaden entrada del #PapaFrancisco en Basílica Menor del Santuario Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre. pic.twitter.com/TX1JYcJeDW |
| Updated at 1.01pm BST | Updated at 1.01pm BST |
| 12.49pm BST12:49 | 12.49pm BST12:49 |
| Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of the Pope’s visit to Cuba and the US. It’s the final day of Pope Francis’s Cuban tour today, and he will be flying to the US this afternoon local time. | Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of the Pope’s visit to Cuba and the US. It’s the final day of Pope Francis’s Cuban tour today, and he will be flying to the US this afternoon local time. |
| Francis has got a short schedule today in Cuba: mass this morning in the village of El Cobre, then a meeting with families and blessing at the Cathedral in Santiago de Cuba. | Francis has got a short schedule today in Cuba: mass this morning in the village of El Cobre, then a meeting with families and blessing at the Cathedral in Santiago de Cuba. |
| After a farewell ceremony at 12.15pm local time (4.15pm GMT), the pope will get in the Paplane (I assume that’s what it’s called) and fly to the US, where he’ll be welcomed at 4pm (8pm GMT) in Washington DC. | After a farewell ceremony at 12.15pm local time (4.15pm GMT), the pope will get in the Paplane (I assume that’s what it’s called) and fly to the US, where he’ll be welcomed at 4pm (8pm GMT) in Washington DC. |
| You can watch a livestream of the pope’s activities today here: | You can watch a livestream of the pope’s activities today here: |
| And you can follow it all throughout the day on this live blog. | And you can follow it all throughout the day on this live blog. |