EUROPE/SPAIN - Bishops of Cuba on their Marian pilgrimage: “The Church in Cuba made it their priority to be a prayerful Church in an atheist country and a missionary Church although the faith was restricted to places of worship.”

Illescas (Agenzia Fides) - Archbishop Guillermo Dionisio Garcia of Santiago de Cuba presided the Mass yesterday held at the Shrine of “La Virgen de la Caridad” in Illescas (Toledo), in honor of the establishment of the affiliation between the two churches. In his homily, the Archbishop mentioned that “the only way to work for justice, love, and peace is focusing our gaze on love and charity and uprooting hatred.” The pastoral visit of the Cuban Bishops’ Conference, which is the first time all the Bishops travel to Spain, began with a Mass at 12 noon in the Shrine of “Nuestra Señora de la Caridad,” concelebrating with the Bishops of Cuba’s eleven dioceses.
Archbishop Guillermo Dionisio also pointed out that this devotion “may have passed through difficulties,” its origin and the presence of the Virgin Mary have made it “form a part of our historical roots and our identification as Cubans.” He also recalled how many Cubans conserved this image in their homes, even in when it was ‘out of use,’ it was not well looked upon, when it wasn’t considered modern or scientifically correct.” He also mentioned that the fact that the image was discovered by two indians and a black slave demonstrates the intercultural and interracial character of the Church in Cuba. The President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Cuba, Archbishop Juan Garcia Rodriguez of Camaguey, explained that on August 30th of this year (in honor of the novena in preparation for the feast day on September 8), preparations will begin taking place for the celebration of the jubilee in 2012, commemorating the 400th anniversary of Cuba’s Patroness. With this in mind, preparations are already underway for what hopes to be a jubilee that will increase the solidarity between the Cuban people and the people of Illescas.
Following the Mass, which was also attended by the Mayor of Illescas and the Couselor of the Apostolic Nunciature in Spain, there was an establishing the fraternal affiliation of Illescas and Cuba, which concluded with the signing of a document by the Foundation of the Hospital of “Nuestra Señora de la Caridad,” the Cuban Bishops, and the Parish priest of the town of Illescas. The document was also posteriorly signed by Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Archbishop of Toledo. According to sources from the Archbishop’s Office in Toledo, in the statement all parties made the commitment to promote projects of mutual cooperation.
The Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, in an interview granted to the Spanish periodical “La Razon,” said that the Church in Cuba “is a Church that is being born again…a Church that reached what is almost the minimum level of expression, but that in the National Ecclesial Encounter of 1986, made it her priority to be a prayerful Church in an atheist country, to be a living Church amidst this difficult situation, and to be a missionary Church, when expression of the faith was restricted to places of worship. At first, we did not know how to go about doing all this, but the Spirit guided us and it was made possible.”
A great contribution to this effort came with the visit of the Holy Father John Paul II in 1998, Archbishop Dionisio said. In fact, on that occasion, “many people rediscovered their Catholic origins and also discovered a different world view, a view based on faith and the meaning of life.” Right now, “80% of the people that attend and participate in the Mass entered the Church in the last 15 years.” One of the main goals is that “the life of the Church in Cuba become a normal life, that the Christian can practice his faith, just like any other citizen in the world.”
Among the main challenges the Prelate mentioned, was the question of building new churches. “In the areas where there are already churches, many have been restored, some from the ground up, in spite of the economic difficulties. Now we are trying to obtain the permissions necessary to build new churches, in areas where there never were churches or in areas whose populations have grown and thus, the nearest church is at a long distance. In the Cuban Church, there is also the situation of communities that have begun in people’s homes. In the areas where there are no churches, a family opens their house so that a priest or lay missionary can come and a small community begins with the Word of God, a very ‘primitive’ form of evangelization. Then, they finally become ‘parishes,’ but parishes without a church building. It is an initiative that illustrates this process of discovering what the Spirit asks of us.”
The representatives of the Cuban Bishops’ Conference arrived in Illescas from Zaragoza, where they had visited the Basilica “del Pilar” and are scheduled today to visit Alcazar de San Juan (in Ciudad Real, Spain). They will later make their way to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, thus ending their Marian pilgrimage that has served as a preparation for the jubilee celebration of the Church in Cuba. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 8/5/2008; righe 62, parole 841)