Miami church leaders travel to Cuba to mark 200th year of archdiocese

Published: 2004-12-06

MIAMI (CNS) -- Archbishop John C. Favalora of Miami said he and 15 others who traveled to Cuba Nov. 27-29 for the 200th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba experienced on the trip the true meaning of Advent: hope. "It's always Advent in Cuba. The fact that the Cuban people hold on, put up with, endure, it's like waiting for the Messiah, and the hope that a better day is coming," said the archbishop, who made his fourth visit to Cuba -- his first since Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba in 1998. Archbishop Favalora, Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and priests from the Archdiocese of Miami, including Msgr. Tomas Marin and Fathers Gustavo Miyares, Fernando Heria and Daniel Kubala -- together with their mothers -- visited Cuba for 48 hours. The U.S. visitors found the church in Cuba "surviving and thriving," and noted that in recent years Cuban Catholics have felt freer to express their faith. However, the group also came up against the numerous restrictions that exist in the country -- they had brought donated medicines and religious articles but they were not allowed to take them to the Cuban people. So, they returned home with the items.

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