HAVANA (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI prayed for freedom and renewal “for the greater good of all Cubans” before the nation’s patron saint Tuesday, but the island’s communist leaders quickly rejected the Roman Catholic leader’s appeal for political change after five decades of one-party rule.

The exchange came hours before Fidel Castro confirmed that he would happily meet with Benedict before he leaves for Rome on Wednesday. Castro made the much-awaited announcement at the end of a short opinion piece posted on a government website late Tuesday, saying he had decided to ask for “a few minutes of his busy time.”

Expectations of a meeting have dominated Benedict’s three-day visit to Cuba, which culminates with a morning Mass in Havana’s Revolution Plaza.

On Tuesday, Benedict had a 55-minute closed-door meeting with Fidel’s brother, President Raul Castro, in which the pontiff proposed that Good Friday, when Catholics commemorate the death of Christ, be made a holiday.

There was no immediate response. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said it was natural for the government to take time to consider such a request, which followed on the Cuban government’s decision to declare Christmas a national holiday after Pope John Paul II’s 1998 visit.

“It’s not that it changes reality in a revolutionary way, but it can be a sign of a positive step — as was the case of Christmas after John Paul’s visit,” Lombardi said.