Pope Benedict XVI meets with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and the faithful Saturday, after condemning the "evil" of drug gangs and praying for victims in the violence-plagued country.
Crowds of cheering, flag-waving faithful welcomed the pontiff Friday as he made his 20-mile (34-kilometer) journey to the city of Leon in the white Popemobile after landing in the central, heavily Catholic state of Guanajuato.
In only his second trip to the world's most Catholic continent, the pope, who turns 85 next month, is visiting Silao, Leon and Guanajuato in Mexico before spending two days in communist Cuba.
"Brother Benedict, now you're Mexican," shouted young people wearing white t-shirts bearing images of the pope, as mariachi musicians played at the airport.
Benedict comes to a Mexican church battling to extend its influence while faced with setbacks that include legalized abortion and gay marriage in the Mexican capital.
Although he did not address those issues directly, Benedict cautiously referred to the "incomparable dignity of every human being, created by God, which no one has the right to forget or disregard."
"This dignity is expressed especially in the fundamental right to freedom of religion, in its full meaning and integrity," he said on his incoming flight.
The pontiff also alluded to the strong Catholic traditions of the region, where a Catholic rebellion in the 1920s saw the faithful take up arms against laws that stripped the church of power.
Guanajuato is a stronghold of President Felipe Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN), which has roots in Catholic organizations.
The visit comes amid debate over new legislation, which Calderon's government is backing, to end restrictions on religious ceremonies in public places and a ban on religious involvement in politics.
Although Mexico is numerically the world's second most-Catholic nation -- where 84 percent of the population has been baptized -- Catholic numbers have dropped in recent years, partly due to the rise of rival religious movements.
Benedict said he would pray "particularly for those who suffer... all forms of violence," with expectations high for a strong message of peace amid a wave of drug violence that has left some 50,000 dead in five years.
He also called for efforts "to fight this evil which destroys our young," referring to drug gang culture.
Mexican authorities promised maximum security during the visit, with some 5,400 security forces deployed, while the archbishop of Leon even called on local drug gangs to agree to a truce.
The pope was set to face criticism over the clerical abuse scandal, particularly the Vatican's management of Mexico's most notorious offender, Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ order who died in 2008.
Mexican victims of the sexual abuse were disappointed that he had no plans to meet them.
Some 700,000 visitors were in the region for the sixth papal visit to Mexico, after five by the charismatic John Paul II, in whose shadow the trip inevitably took place.
A highlight of the visit was expected to be a huge mass Sunday in the regional Bicentennial Park, which sits below a towering statue of Christ the King.
In Cuba, the pope will also seek to follow in the footsteps of John Paul II, who was credited with strengthening the church's relationship to the state and urging the communist island to open up, though it remains highly isolated.
Benedict said that Marxism "no longer corresponds to reality" and called for "new models" amid so far timid changes in the communist regime, on the journey to Mexico.
Cuba's Catholic community -- which makes up around 10 percent of the population -- is willing "to help create a constructive dialogue to avoid traumas," he said.
Dissidents have held a series of protests aimed at pressuring the pope into tackling the government on rights.
Benedict's visit commemorates the 400th anniversary of Cuba's patron saint Our Lady of Charity, a statue of Mary found in the sea who is revered for her miracles.
The pope hopes to encourage religious fervor after more than 40 years of official atheism ended in the early 1990s, and a big turnout is expected among Catholics at masses on the island