There was a more subdued atmosphere, however, at this year's Easter
                  celebrations than in 1998 when services were full of believers newly
                  emboldened by the Pope's visit, and onlookers curious to know what all the
                  fuss was about.

                  Cuba's highest-ranking Catholic prelate, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, held a
                  central Mass on Sunday morning at Havana's colonial-era cathedral
                  attended by some 400 faithful.

                  Earlier, he led several hundred worshippers late on Saturday into a square
                  opposite the cathedral for a brief ceremony, before Midnight Mass, to light
                  candles representing the resurrected Christ.

                  It was the second time, after a similar ceremony last year, that the Easter
                  resurrection ceremony had been held in public since religious activities were
                  ordered confined to church premises soon after Fidel Castro's 1959
                  revolution.

                  The Pope's five-day visit to Cuba in January 1998 was a watershed in
                  state-church relations on the Caribbean island, and consolidated a softening
                  of the communist government's stance toward Catholics.

                  Cubans also held open-air Palm Sunday and Good Friday processions,
                  banned for decades until the Papal visit.

                  Dozens of babies were baptised at the Saturday night Masses, including 15
                  in the cathedral.

                  "Before the Pope's visit, people were still scared to go to church because of
                  the consequences it might bring. Last year, they felt braver but still a bit
                  nervous. Now it's gradually becoming more normal to do these things," said
                  Francisco Perez, a 53-year-old Catholic at Sunday's Mass at Havana
                  cathedral.

                  "I think the relative normality of it all is a good sign. The church has won a
                  space, and is making sure there is no going backward," he added.

                  For decades after the 1959 revolution, when Cuba was officially an atheistic
                  state, the Catholic church was marginalized, and religious faith was
                  considered incompatible with being a committed communist.

                  Ortega steered clear of politics in his Easter address, focusing instead on the
                  compassion of the Virgin Mary and the faith of Christ's followers who
                  believed he had risen from the dead before they had any proof.

                  He did, however, remind his congregation that many contemporaries at the
                  time of Christ had -- mistakenly -- taken him for a "rebel" crucified for being
                  a political threat to the ruling Roman authorities.

                  That version did not accord with the reality of Christ's mission to save all
                  mankind, Ortega added, in what was possibly an oblique allusion to those
                  who want the church to take a more overtly political role in Cuba.

                  In the 15 months since the Pope's visit, the church has won various
                  concessions, including the right to hold open-air activities, the arrival of more
                  foreign priests, some space in the state-run media, and the permanent
                  restoration of Christmas Day as a national holiday.

                  Church leaders have, however, scrupulously avoided a confrontational
                  approach with the government, and insisted they were not going to fill the
                  role of a significant opposition movement to Castro's one-party system.

                  Although there was plenty of evidence of greater freedom for the church
                  during the Easter activities, there was little sign of a significant revival of faith,
                  with attendances appearing slightly lower than last year.

                  The majority of Cubans seemed far more interested on Sunday in going to
                  the beach, staying at home, or participating in activities organised by
                  communist youth organisations.