Cuban President Fidel Castro made a rare appearance in the Havana Cathedral in order to attend a funeral mass for deceased Roman Catholic pontiff, John Paul II, and further, Cuba, a nation that until 1992 was officially atheist, has declared three days of mourning. Pope John Paul II spoke out against the U.S. Trade Embargo against Cuba, which according to Castro, “earned him the friendship of all Cubans everywhere.” Further, the Pope took a stand against the U.S. blockade by visiting the island in 1998. At the formal Vatican funeral on April 8, the Cuban delegation will be led by National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon.