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By Andrew Cawthorne
EL RINCON, Cuba, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Some dressed in sackcloth and crawling
on hands-and-knees, others quaffing rum and smoking cigars, thousands of Cuban
devotees flocked to pay homage on Thursday at the shrine of Saint Lazarus.
The annual pilgrimage to one of Cuba's most sacred icons drew large crowds
of both Roman Catholic believers and -- in greater numbers -- followers of the
Afro-Cuban Santeria faith for whom Saint Lazarus also symbolises the deity
Babalu-Aye.
The faithful, and the plain curious, began arriving at the chapel housing
Saint Lazarus' image in the dusty village of El Rincon, in agricultural land
outside Havana, late on Wednesday night.
Numbers peaked at around midnight when many streamed into the church exactly
as the saint's day began in order to fulfil personal vows.
The religious ceremonies were continuing throughout Thursday with a central
Mass to be led by the head of Cuba's Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Jaime
Ortega.
The pilgrimage, traditionally one of the Caribbean island's most important
religious events, reflected the latent spirituality of many Cubans despite
nearly four decades of Communist rule that for a long time marginalized
religion.
Religious sentiment on the island received an unprecedented boost with a
January trip to Cuba by Pope John Paul, who included the Saint Lazarus shrine on
his itinerary. Open shows of faith are no longer considered
``counter-revolutionary.''
Many Cuban pilgrims arrived at the chapel exhausted and bleeding after
grueling treks barefoot, on their knees, or even dragging themselves along the
ground in some cases. Many wore the traditional sackcloth of penitence.
``I am doing this so that Saint Lazarus will save me from prison,'' said one
devotee, Lazaro Suarez Gomez, hauling himself forward on his knees with a rock
tied to his ankle. Suarez said he was being tried unjustly for his alleged role
in a car accident, but trusted that Saint Lazarus would help him.
Inside the church, Catholic workers led round-the-clock devotions, with
prayers, blessings, and rousing cries of ``Long live Saint Lazarus!'' or ``Long
live Cuba!''
A Catholic nun, Elvira Garcia, sighed as she watched ``santeros'' drinking
rum and offering half-smoked cigars to Saint Lazarus, holding gaily-painted
Voodoo-style dolls, and even dripping candle wax onto their skins.
``They have adopted the Catholic tradition of Saint Lazarus, but made it
their own with rites that have nothing to do with Catholicism,'' she said. ``But
our doors are open so that they may hear about Jesus Christ.''
Garcia added that she and other Cuban Catholics felt reinvigorated by the
papal visit in January, and some subsequent pro-religious measures such as
Havana's permanent restoration of the Christmas holiday abolished in 1969.
``It has not been easy, what we have lived ... but we have maintained our
faith, and now we can express ourselves more openly. The fear is going,'' she
said.
Francisco Santos, 38, a driver, who said he was making an annual pilgrimage
since Saint Lazarus cured him of leprosy, saw no conflict in being both Catholic
and ``santero.'' ``They come from the same branch of the tree,'' he said,
standing beside a cart with an assortment of images and offerings he had dragged
to the shrine from Havana 15 miles (25 km) away.
In both Catholicism and Santeria -- introduced by African slaves brought to
Cuba when it was a Spanish colony -- Saint Lazarus is associated with the
healing of sicknesses.
The pilgrimage was officially sanctioned, with a heavy police presence to
keep order among the crowds.
In a show of force by Cuba's tiny self-employed sector, vendors lined the
streets selling religious trinkets, flowers, pork sandwiches and peanuts. Fidel
Castro's government allowed a small private sector as part of a packet of
cautious ``capitalist'' measures introduced in the early 1990s.
09:13 12-17-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited |