Drawing a parallel between Cuba and Poland, where he helped topple communism, Pope John Paul II said Wednesday he hopes his visit to the island last week bears the same ``fruits'' as his 1979 trip to his homeland.

Speaking first in Italian and then in the languages of several groups of pilgrims at his regular Wednesday audience, John Paul said his ``unforgettable'' Cuban trip was a ``great event of spiritual, cultural and social reconciliation.''

But when he spoke in Polish, his native language and the one John Paul most often uses when speaking from the heart, he voiced what sounded like a wish that Cuban communism would go the same way as Poland's.

``This visit to Cuba reminded me a lot of my first visit to Poland in 1979,'' he said of a visit credited with giving Poles the resolve to found the Solidarity labor union and eventually force the Communist government to surrender power.

``I express my hope, to my brothers and sisters on that beautiful island, that the fruits of this pilgrimage will be similar to the fruits of that pilgrimage,'' he said as his Polish visitors exploded in wild applause.

It was the first time in years of talking about Cuba and a visit there that John Paul had drawn the parallel between Cuba and Poland, a parallel that Castro pointedly ridiculed when he saw the pope off on his flight home Sunday.

John Paul looked tired Wednesday, perhaps still suffering from jet lag after a 100-hour visit to Cuba sandwiched between two 12-hour flights.

But Vatican officials who accompanied him were delighted, claiming to have won over President Fidel Castro's heart and exulting over the huge crowds that chanted ``Libertad!'' and ``We're not afraid!''

Holy See officials said they will follow up intensely on the visit to ensure that Cuba continues opening space for the church, and issued a veiled warning that John Paul will weigh in with public criticism if Havana backslides.

John Paul's appeal for the release of political prisoners and his speeches on the failings of communism and the need for freedom and justice, one official said, ``were as tough and as political as the pope has ever been.''

Slow warm-up

Vatican officials recalled that it took some time for Cubans to warm up to the pope's message, apparently because of nearly 40 decades of harsh political control.

At John Paul's first Mass in Santa Clara last Thursday, one aide reminisced, a single man in the crowd shouted, ``Help the political prisoners!'' at the end of the pope's homily. But the crowd remained silent.

Vatican officials credited Archbishop Pedro Meurice Estiu of Santiago de Cuba with breaking the silence Saturday with a blistering attack in that city while Defense Minister Raul Castro, younger brother and anointed successor of President Castro, sat in the audience.

``The people started chanting, `We're not afraid! We're not afraid,' '' recalled the Rev. Jose Conrado Rodriguez, who attended the Mass in Santiago de Cuba.

The chant grew stronger when Raul Castro turned around to the crowd, as if to admonish them to be silent, he said. Rodriguez made his comments Wednesday in Miami on his way back to Spain, where he is studying journalism.

Speech unavailable

Copies of Meurice's speech were mysteriously unavailable at the government-run press office in Santiago de Cuba -- unlike all other speeches during the five-day visit. But a Vatican official hand-carried copies to the office and the archbishop's words quickly became the news of the day.

While some at the Santiago Mass were surprised that the archbishop's words were stronger than the pope's, Vatican officials said that was deliberate.

``The pontiff came not just to preach to Cubans, but to allow Cuban church leaders a platform for their own thoughts,'' one Vatican source said. ``On something this essential . . . it was best that Cubans hear it from a Cuban.''

As for Fidel Castro, the Vatican officials' impression was that he was genuinely impressed and fascinated by the pope -- ``infatuated,'' said one -- but that he faced strong disapproval from Communist Party bureaucrats.

``Castro's underlings are anxious and afraid right now. None of this fits into the party logic, and they feel delegitimized. How are they going to explain this to the party members?'' one Vatican source said.

Trip's follow-up

That's one reason why the Vatican's follow-up on the Cuba trip is expected to be the most comprehensive since the visits to Poland, the officials added.

While elated by the many concessions Castro made for the visit, they said, the Vatican wants more than just a few more visas for foreign missionaries or freedom for a handful of political prisoners,

The Cuban National Assembly will take up a law guaranteeing freedom of religion later this year, and the church is continuing to press for more access to the mass media, perhaps with its own radio station, and a return of Roman Catholic values to education.

And if the Cuban government tries to return to the bad old days, John Paul himself will probably wade into the issue, a Vatican official said.

``He may have more things to say,'' one Vatican source said, ``and this time in a language Castro won't need a translator to understand.''