Singing children greet pope in Cuba’s Holguin

Singing children and a small crowd waving Cuban and Vatican flags are greeting Francis upon his arrival at the airport in the eastern city of Holguin.

Some cried out "Francis! Holguin is with you!" from the tarmac as the pope emerged from an Alitalia plane. Cuban First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel is heading the government delegation to receive the pontiff.

From the airport Francis travels to the city's Revolution Plaza for a morning Mass in front of thousands of people with hats and parasols shielding themselves from the sun.

A giant image of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, Cuba's patron, is mounted on a building in the square.

The pope is scheduled to celebrate Mass in the city's Revolution and visit La Loma de la Cruz, a cross and lookout point above Cuba's third-largest city. Then he'll head to Santiago for a visit to the shrine of Cuba's patron saint in the nearly town of Cobre.

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