Francis, 78, appeared to be walking with some discomfort.
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The pontiff sent prayers to the 64,000 residents of the 24-square-mile overseas territory, many of whom are expats, as he headed to Havana on Saturday to conduct his first mass in Cuba.
The Pope said that generation after generation, day after day, we are asked to ‘live the revolution of tenderness as Mary, our Mother of Charity, did’.
First she goes to help her cousin Elizabeth. Just look at this picture of Francis’s predecessor, St. John Paul II, embracing Lech Walesea, the leading dissident in Communist Poland.
Not to go too far though, the pope also expressed his regret that he could not welcome all Cubans, a reference believed to refer to the dissident community. They are the ones chiefly responsible for keeping the faith alive in the communist nation, he said. It also strengthened the church because its members worked more in communion with one another, he said. The Pope will visit three American cities, all on the east coast, before kicking off a trip to Washington D.C., where the Secret Service has spent months preparing for the pontiff’s arrival.
Juana Dania Vaillnit and Francisco Reyes Mora, have been married for 50 years – a feat in a country where Catholic marriage, and even civil marriage, has become rare.
This devotion emerged from the people, and drew strong support from the institutional church. It makes us able to laugh with those who laugh, and rejoice with our neighbors who rejoice.
SKULLCAP AND A HAT – Pope Francis is greeted by Cuba’s President Raul Castro as he arrives to lead a mass for Catholic faithful in the city of Holguin, Cuba, September 21, 2015.
“All I can do is come before you and ask for forgiveness from you and the people back here”.
During the Mass in the packed shrine – and with thousands watching from outside – Pope Francis paid special tribute to Cuba’s strong and steady grandmothers. And to learn to pray with Mary, for her prayer is one of remembrance and gratitude; it is the canticle of the People of God on their pilgrimage through history.
Crahan, who has traveled to Cuba more than 50 times since 1973, said Cuba’s bishops have chosen to seek gradual change in their country rather than challenge the government directly. There’s a lot of angst about what he might say, especially when he addresses Congress Thursday morning.
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He talked about how hard it is to be a Christian in a country dealing with moral degradation. “For us, it’s an honor that the pope continues to recognize us”, said Carlos Anaya as he leaned against a wooden barrier on the sidewalk. If they don’t sow the seed of leadership in others, they are worthless. “This sense of Raul Castro attending mass is incredibly interesting and important”, Sennott said, “and I think a sign of great change”.
