Bishops evangelize Cuba with comic books on the saints

Havana, Cuba, Nov 23, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Thanks to assistance provided by Aid to the Church in Need, the Bishops in Cuba are now evangelizing the country using small comic books on the lives of Fr. Felix Varela and Our Lady of Charity.

ACN financed the printing of 80,000 copies of the comic book, “Father Felix Varela, the Cuban Saint,” which is being distributed among young people in order to introduce them to “one of the most important men from Cuba.”

The life of Fr. Varela is narrated in the color booklet along with direct quotes and explanations on the life and work of the priest, who Cuban writer Jose Marti called, “the Cuban saint” and the “total patriot.”

The Secretariat of the Bishops Conference of Cuba said the life of Fr. Varela was chosen for the comic book because his example and his teaching represent the best of Cubans and their faith and helped to found and nourish “love of country and the practice of virtue.”

The Secretariat also explained that the comic books are intended to spark interest in knowing more about “that person who knew how to respond, with truth and love founded upon his Christian commitment,” to the challenge of the times in which the Cuban nation and the “dream of freedom” were born.

Cardinal Jaime Ortega, Archbishop of Havana and President of the Bishops Conference, stated, “The Cuban Catholic is inheritor of the Christian and patriotic thought of Fr. Felix Varela, of his zeal for independence, of his love for Cuba, of his faithfulness to the Church.”

According to the bishops, the comic book will be the inspiration for the new generations of Cubans to fulfill the convictions of Father Varela: “young people are the sweet hope of the nation.”

Aid to the Church in need also financed the printing of 100,000 comic books on the story of Our Lady of Charity, Cuba’s patroness.