HAVANA (AP) - A smiling Pope Francis was greeted at Mexico City's airport Friday evening, with a rock concert-like show with blue floodlights illuminating a stage and bandstands and crowds waving yellow handkerchiefs. Mariachis serenaded as his chartered plane pulled to a stop and people shouted "Brother Francis, you're already Mexican."
President Enrique Pena Nieto, suffering the lowest approval ratings for a Mexican leader in a quarter century, and his wife met Francis on a red carpet. The crowd roared as the three walked together, stopping to speak with four children in folk dress. Then the lights dimmed and the crowd waved lights as the official song composed for Francis' visit was performed. Men in broad sombreros and women in flowing red skirts danced on the tarmac.
Francis stepped to a group of children dressed in white offering blessings and placing his hand on top of each head. Then the trio veered from the red carpet and made a pass closer to the crowd in grandstands. A gust of wind blew the pope's hat from his head. He briefly donned a black sombrero before handing it back to its mariachi owner.
Earlier in the day, Pope Francis made a stop in Havana, Cuba to meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in an historic development in the 1,000-year-old schism that divided Christianity. The two embraced and kissed one another three times on the cheek as they met in a wood-paneled VIP room at the Havana airport. It was the first time a pope and Russian patriarch had ever met.
The Vatican sees the meeting as an important new step in its ecumenical efforts, but many Orthodox observers see Kirill's willingness to sit down with a pope as more an attempt to assert Russia and Russian Orthodoxy at a time when Moscow is being isolated by the West.
The two signed a joint declaration on religious unity. The declaration calls for peace in Syria, Iraq and Ukraine and urges Europe to "maintain its faithfulness to its Christian roots." During the meeting, the two exchanged gifts that are deeply symbolic and trace the history of the sometimes tense relationship between East and West.
Francis brought Kirill a reliquary containing a relic of St. Cyril, the 5th century archbishop of Alexandria who is revered by both Catholic and Orthodox churches. He also brought a chalice. Kirill, for his part, offered Francis a small replica of the Madonna of Kazan icon.
In 2004, the Vatican had returned an 18th century copy of the famous image to Kirill's predecessor, Alexy II, in a bid to forge better ecumenical friendship. The traditional Byzantine gold-and-wood icon depicts the Madonna and Child. The original 16th century work was revered by Russian believers for its purported ability to work miracles, including the rout of Polish invaders in the early 17th century.
St. John Paul II had hung it in his private chapel after receiving it from a Catholic group in 1993. He had hoped that returning an icon so revered by him personally might forge better ties with the Russian church. While welcoming the return, Alexy said since it was only a copy of the original 16th century icon that the pope didn't need to personally accompany it back to Moscow, thus dashing his hopes for a visit.
Francis will tour Mexico, the most Catholic country in the Spanish-speaking world, through Wednesday. According to the most recent census, Mexico's percentage of Catholics has declined from 96 percent in 1970 to 83 percent in 2010. Francis is scheduled to visit places most affected by poverty, violence and immigration.