Pope Francis's historic meeting in Cuba with Russian

he Latest on Pope Francis's historic meeting in Cuba with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill
and his subsequent trip to Mexico (all times local):

9:50 a.m. A spokesman for Patriarch Kirill says the head of the Russian Orthodox Church will be wearing his everyday vestments at Friday's meeting with Pope Francis.

The meeting in Cuba's capital of Havana will be the first ever meeting between a pope and a head of the Russian Church, the largest Orthodox Church in the world.


Kirill's spokesman Father Alexander Volkov told Russian news agencies on Friday that the Patriarch will be wearing the usual vestments he wears for church services. That consists of a black cassock and a white koukoulion, the traditional headdress of Orthodox monks.
8:40 a.m.

Pope Francis says his deepest desire for his trip to Mexico is to simply pray before the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Speaking to reporters en route to his first stop in Havana, Francis said he knew that the Virgin is beloved to Catholics and even those who are not.

"This mystery that they study, study, and there are no human explanations," he said. "The most scientific study says this is something of God. This is what I'll tell the Mexicans, even those who say 'I'm atheist but I'm a Guadalupeno.' — Then he corrected himself: "Some Mexicans. Not all are atheists."

Francis arrives in Mexico Friday night and he's due to celebrate Mass in the Basilica of Guadalupe on Saturday evening. The trip to Mexico runs through Wednesday.

8:15 a.m.
Popes always receive gifts on their foreign visits, and Francis is no different, getting a sombrero, some chocolate chip cookies and a single white rose, which has significance for him. But Noel Diaz's gift as the pope was flying to Cuba and Mexico was particularly heartfelt.