Cuban Bishops urge warm preparation for Pope’s visit

(March 02, 2012) The bishops of Cuba are exhorting their faithful to receive Pope Benedict XVI with spiritual preparation, affection and enthusiasm when he visits the Caribbean nation later this month. As Cubans are experiencing a ‘particular enthusiasm’ in the run-up to the Pope's March 26-28 pastoral visit to Cuba, the Church leaders have written to their faithful urging them to take part in the two Holy Masses which will take place in Santiago de Cuba and Havana. The bishops of Cuba are also urging their faithful to participate in a three-day initiative dedicated to prayer and the mission, a week prior to the Pope's arrival on March 26. March 15 has been dedicated to Eucharistic prayer in all the communities, March 16 is a day of fast and March 17 has been dedicated to works of charity. These actions, the bishops said, will be offered for the spiritual fruits of the Holy Father's visit. Pope Benedict has timed his visit for the 400th anniversary, this year, of the discovery of the statue of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, the patron of Cuba. The national shrine of the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity is in the village of El Cobre near Santiago de Cuba, over 900 kilometres east of Havana. In their message the Cuban bishops said that the 400th anniversary celebration is "to thank God for his gift of the Virgin of Charity, to put into practice Christian love with greater care and generosity, and to go on pilgrimage to her Shrine of Cobre." The Cuban bishops said the papal visit fulfils “a desire that has long been alive in the hearts of Catholics and of many Cubans who identify themselves as Catholics or otherwise feel themselves linked to the Church in some way.” The papal visit will also be an opportunity to meditate on the teachings that Pope Benedict will impart and thus strengthen the Christian roots of the nation. Pope Benedict will be flying to Cuba after visiting Mexico, March 23-26.