The Latest: Pope Francis meeting with Raul Castro at Cuba's seat of government in Havana

HAVANA – The latest developments in Pope Francis' visit to Cuba and the United States. All times local:

4:15 p.m.

Pope Francis is at the Palace of the Revolution, Cuba's seat of government, for a state meeting with President Raul Castro.

The two men are greeting Cuban cardinals and government officials.

Among those attending is first Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the man widely expected to assume the presidency in 2018 when Castro says he intends to step down.

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3:45 p.m.

A photograph shows the meeting between Pope Francis and Fidel Castro at the former Cuban leader's home.

The former president and the pope look each other in the eyes as they shake hands. Francis is wearing his white vestments, and Castro is clad in a white, button-down shirt and a sporty sweatshirt.

The image was shot by Alex Castro, Fidel's son and official photographer, and was provided to The Associated Press.

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3:05 p.m.

Pope Francis has issued a personal invitation for people to join him in Philadelphia next weekend. Whether a million or more people show up, as projected, remains an open question.

A campaign to encourage attendance at the papal Mass and other events features the slogan "I'll be there."

In a videotaped message the pope says, "I will be there because you will be there! See you in Philadelphia!"

Some travel restrictions have been eased, cutting walking distances. But there are still hotel rooms and plenty of rail passes to be had.

The secured site of the pope's two biggest events is the mile-long Benjamin Franklin Parkway. New estimates put its capacity at about 250,000 people.

Other visitors will have to watch on jumbo TV screens near the parkway or in other locations around the city. Church officials say that was always the plan.

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1:15 p.m.

The Vatican spokesman says Pope Francis and Fidel Castro exchanged gifts of books during their half-hour meeting at the former Cuban leader's home.

Federico Lombardi says the pontiff presented Castro with a volume written by a Jesuit who taught him at the Catholic school he attended as a child.

Castro gave the pope a collection of his own conversations about religion with Brazilian cleric Frei Betto.

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1:05 p.m.

The Vatican spokesman says Pope Francis has met with Fidel Castro for about a half-hour at the former Cuban leader's home.

Federico Lombardi says the conversation was informal and took place in the presence of Castro's children and grandchildren.

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11:10 a.m.

Cuban state-run website Cubadebate has changed the logo on its homepage and Twitter account in honor of Pope Francis' visit.

The usual logo consisting of red and black semicircles and white arrows has been replaced by a graphic representation of the tall papal headgear known as the mitre, emblazoned with a cross.

It's accompanied by the words "Welcome to Cuba," in Spanish in place of Cubadebate's usual tagline: "Against Media Terrorism."

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10:40 a.m.

Cuban President Raul Castro is the first to greet Pope Francis after the pontiff celebrated Mass in Havana's Revolution Plaza.

Francis also chatted briefly with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and island religious leaders.

Two aides steadied the pope as he climbed the stairs to the altar, and again when he descended. He suffers from sciatica and occasionally walks with a limp.

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10:21 a.m.

Pope Francis is begging Colombia's government and largest guerrilla army to end South America's longest-running conflict, saying they cannot allow another failure to derail peace efforts.

Francis issued the appeal Sunday from Revolution Plaza in Havana, where peace talks underway for more than two years between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and representatives of Bogota aim to end a half-century of fighting.

He said: "May the blood shed by thousands of innocent people during long decades of armed conflict" sustain efforts to find a definitive peace.

Francis added: "Please, we do not have the right to allow ourselves yet another failure on this path of peace and reconciliation."

The church's first Latin American pope recently helped nudge forward the historic reconciliation between the United States and Cuba with a personal appeal to the leaders of both countries.

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9:45 a.m.

Pope Francis is urging Cubans to look out for one another and not just judge others based on what they are or are not doing.

Francis directed the message to thousands of Cubans gathered Sunday for his first Mass in Havana's Revolution Plaza. He told them that those who want to be great must serve others, and not be served by them. He said Cubans should avoid "judgmental looks."

He said "All of us are asked, indeed urged, by Jesus to care for one another out of love ... Without looking to one side or the other to see what our neighbor is doing or not doing."

It wasn't immediately clear what Francis was referring to. But many Cubans complain about the rigidity of a system in which virtually every aspect of life is controlled by the government, from cultural institutions to block-level neighborhood watch committees, in which people are excluded or lose benefits if they are perceived as being disloyal or unfaithful to the principles of the revolution.

That has eased in recent years, but it remains a problem in the eyes of many islanders and outside observers.

Many Cubans are also increasingly concerned about growing inequality, as those with access to foreign capital live better than others who struggle to feed themselves, generating jealousy and division within families and society at large.

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9:15 a.m.

Cuban security personnel have detained at least three people who appeared to be trying to distribute leaflets ahead of Pope Francis's Mass in Havana's Revolution Square.

The officials dragged them away and picked up the flyers that were left on one of the streets surrounding the plaza. It's not clear what the protest was about. The three were in white T-shirts and were yelling before they were tackled and dragged away.

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8:30 a.m.

Pope Francis is circling the crowd gathered for his first Mass in Havana, stopping his open-sided popemobile frequently to greet worshippers and kiss youngsters handed up to him.

Vatican and Cuban flags wave amid the throngs in Cuba's Revolution Square.

Cuban President Raul Castro is among those gathered for the Mass.

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8:15 a.m.

The sun has risen over Havana's Revolution Plaza and already thousands of people have filled the square ahead of Pope Francis' first Mass in Cuba.

Believers and non-believers alike have streamed into the square, waiting for Francis to arrive by popemobile. The square's iconic metal portrait of Che Guevara competes with a huge poster of Christ facing the altar where Francis will celebrate Mass.

Cubans know that Francis helped spur the United States and Cuba to their historic rapprochement, and they are coming out in droves to see history's first Latin American pope.

Jose Rafael Velazquez is a 54-year-old worker who came to the plaza with his wife three hours before Mass was due to begin. He says he's not religious, but is coming more to witness a historic event.

He says: "We also are very hopeful for this visit, because the pope was key in the deal with the United States, and ever since the announcement, there have been changes and this visit gives me more hope that it'll get better."