Card. Ortega blesses giant sculpture of Christ in the Cuban Capital

January 05, 2013: "A new picture, because we are in a new time, a new epoch", were the words of the Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino in the blessing ceremony of the monumental sculpture of Jesus of Nazareth located on a hill opposite the town of Havana in the Cuban capital. The sculpture was placed there on 24 December 1958, fifteen days before the rise to power of Fidel Castro. The sculpture underwent a long restoration before it was blessed on Thursday by the Cardinal. "The ceremony was attended by the Apostolic Nuncio to Cuba, Archbishop Bruno Musarò, the auxiliary bishop of Havana, Msgr. Juan de Dios Hernández, the vicar of the archdiocese and several political and cultural personalities of the Cuban capital.
The sculpture is about 20 meters high was carved in Rome and blessed by Pope Pius XII before his departure for Havana. The monument represents Jesus standing with one hand on his chest and the other in the gesture of blessing. It is located 51 meters above sea level on a hill "La Cabaña" where one can admire the panorama of the city.

Cardinal Ortega affirmed that he would consider the inauguration of the sculpture as a symbol of the city considering the "new moment in the history of the country, very different from that in which the image of the savior was erected and placed."
The country today, he said, is in another century, and is faced with an ever changing and renewing road, not only in economic matters but also in other areas such as the growing presence of religion in culture, life and in the expressions of the Cuban people.