Zenit, The World Seen
from Rome.
HAVANA, DEC. 14, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- The first Eucharistic Congress held in
Cuba since the Castro revolution in 1959 was hailed as a "historic
milestone" by the nation’s bishops’ conference.
"We are very happy with the gifts God has showered on us during these
days," Orlando Marquez, spokesman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of
Cuba, told Vatican Radio.
The Eucharistic Congress, held last weekend, was preceded by a theological
symposium, began last Friday with eucharistic adoration. It was followed the
next day by a historic public Mass, during which 2,000 children received their
first Communion.
According to Marquez, the highlight of the congress took place Sunday, with
a historic procession through the streets of Havana, which ended in the
cathedral, where Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana, presided
over the Mass.
During the homily, the cardinal appealed to "the authorities and Cuban
society not to be afraid to open the doors of the Church, so that she may
fulfill the mission entrusted to her by the Lord."
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