In a statement which was written as Fidel Castro prepared for surgery and provisionally yielded power to his brother Raúl last week, the Cuban Bishops asked that parishioners pray for God to guide and protect their country so that peace and fraternity “cannot be disturbed by any situation, internal or external.”

¨President Fidel Castro Ruz´s delicate state of health constitutes an especially significant moment for our people," Conference of Cuban Bishops said in a communication that was read during all Sunday Masses.

In the note, the Cuban episcopate indicates that “the Catholic Church, as part of the people, shares the worries and the prayers of all believers.”

“We the Bishops of Cuba as that all our communities offer prayers that God accompanies President Fidel Castro in his illness and guides those who have provisionally received the responsibilities of government,” the bishops added.

Finally, the bishops asked that the Virgin of the Charity, Patroness of Cuba, “despite all the worries of this hour of the history of our country, to bring a deep peace and brotherly unity among all Cubans, one that cannot be disturbed by any external or internal situation.”