MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro turns 86 years old Monday, out of the public eye.

Castro has not been seen and there has been no mention of his birthday on Cuban-run television.

Sunday, however, Cubans gathered in a park in Central Havana where they celebrated his birthday.

Fidel Castro has kept a low profile for months. He last appeared in public in March when he met Pope Benedict XVI on the pontiff’s visit to the Caribbean country.

He also hasn’t published any of his occasional opinion columns in the state press since June 19.

Castro stepped down from power in 2006, at first temporarily, and then permanently in 2008, due to an intestinal illness that he later said nearly killed him. He ceded power to younger brother Raul Castro.