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Pope Francis, Russian Church Leader In Cuba For Historic Meeting

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Pope Francis' plane took off from Cuba following a historic meeting Friday afternoon.

The pontiff met with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill  at José Martí International. The meeting is considered a historic step towards healing a 1000-year-old schism that divided Christianity between East and West.

The pope first had a meeting with Cuban leader Raul Castro and Patriarch Kirill. Later, the two religious leaders met privately to talk and sign a declaration.

Pope Francis
Pope Francis (L) and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill (C), sign documents after a historic meeting next to Cuban President Raul Castro (4-R) in Havana on February 12, 2016. Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill kissed each other and sat down together Friday at Havana airport for the first meeting between their two branches of the church in nearly a thousand years. (ALEJANDRO ERNESTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Castro reportedly facilitated Friday's meeting . The Vatican said Cuba is neutral ground for both parties. It's the first meeting ever between a pope and the Russian Orthodox leader.  This is the pope's second visit to Cuba in the last six months.

CBS4's Eliott Rodriguez is in Havana and spoke with people in the city to find out what they thought of the historic meeting.

"Although I am totally not Catholic. I am not religious. I don't believe that there's a higher end but I still think that this is a nice gesture from both sides to meet and talk since there is so much war around us about religious stuff," said one woman.

"I think it's really cool that the pope is so interested in Cuba and it's such a great country and that Cuban people love the pope," said a girl who was visiting Cuba for the first time with her grandmother.

"I think it's wonderful that he's uniting so many people," said another woman.

Pope Francis/ Raul Castro
Cuban leader Raul Castro greeted Pope Francis as soon as he arrived in Cuba on February 12, 2016. (Source: CBS4)

The stopover in Cuba was only part of his big trip to Mexico  where he'll tackle hot button issues including immigration.

The streets of Mexico City were bustling with last-minute preparations for the pope's visit. Stores were already selling Pope Francis memorabilia.

Mexico has the world's second largest Catholic population, behind Brazil.

During his trip, the Holy Father will celebrate mass on the country's southern and northern borders.

Workers are putting the finishing touches on the altar for an outdoor Mass in Juarez--a violent, drug plagued city that borders El Paso, Texas.

In his homily, Francis is expected to address drugs, cartel violence and immigration.

Melissa Lopez  runs a catholic charity that helps migrants with legal services in El Paso.

"The fact that he's coming here says a lot about him as a human being and the direction that he wants to push the catholic church in," said Executive Director Melissa Lopez.

The pope's mass will take place just across the border, and will be visible from El Paso, Texas.

Extra U.S. border agents will be on duty.

"Any time you have more people at one event we have to increase our presence  and that's really the main focus to ensure that everybody is safe," said Jose Romero with Border Patrol.

Nearly half a million people are expected in Juarez  next week.

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