HAVANA -- (AP) -- Raul Castro, President Fidel Castro's brother and his
 presumed successor, sent a handwritten message of support to Cuba's children
 and young ``pioneers'' who have rallied to bring home Elian Gonzalez.

 ``We are proud of all of you and we congratulate you for this grand demonstration
 of patriotism,'' said the letter, published Sunday in Juventude Rebelde, the official
 newspaper of Cuban youth.

 The simply-written letter was directed to the young participants in Saturday's
 400,000-strong rally for Elian in Holguin, about 730 kilometers east of the capital,
 Havana.

 Raul Castro, 69, headed the rally, as he has at several other demonstrations that
 have taken place each Saturday across the country in the months since
 6-year-old Elian was found off the Florida coast in November. Children have figured
 prominently in the rallies, either as participants, speakers, singers or dancers.

 On June 12, the government organized a rally specifically for children in which an
 estimated 150,000 students demonstrated in Havana for the return of Elian.

 ``In this great battle, all the Cuban pioneers have participated with the rest of the
 country,'' said the letter, which was signed by Raul Castro -- ``a Holguin pioneer
 converted into an adult.''

 Fidel Castro has endorsed his brother, the No. 2 man in both Cuba's Communist
 Party and the government's ruling Council of State, as well as head of the armed
 forces, as his successor.

 Elian, who was rescued after his mother and 10 others perished in a sea journey
 to the United States, has been living in the Washington area since he was
 reunited with his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez on April 22.

 On Friday, a federal appeals court refused to review again an appeal by Elian's
 Miami relatives who are trying to keep him in the United States, and said the stay
 keeping him in the United States would expire on Wednesday.

 The relatives have said they would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.