Havana, Cuba, Sep 9, 2004 / 22:00 pm
This past Wednesday, September 8, feast of the Birth of Mary, Catholics in Cuba celebrated the feast of their country’s patroness, Our Lady of Charity, with nearly 50 processions taking place across the island, while thousands of Cubans in other countries held their own celebrations in honor of the patroness of their homeland.
Although the Cuban government allowed the Bishop of Cienfuegos, Emilio Aranguren, to make a brief statement on local radio, at least four requests to organize celebrations were denied, including that of the Diocese of Santa Clara, according to Orlando Marquez, spokesman for the Bishops Conference of Cuba.
At the shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Cobre, spouses, mothers and daughters of the 75 dissidents currently imprisoned by the Castro regime, all dressed in white, participated in the primary celebration.
The day before, the “Women in White” also marched in procession together with 15,000 people across fifteen blocks of downtown Havana, led by a statue of Our Lady and Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino.