Cubans joining together in prayer crusade for unity

Havana, Cuba, Dec 5, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Thanks to an effort by a group of Catholics, hundreds of Cubans gathered together in churches throughout the country on the last Sunday of November in order to pray for unity in the nation.

A lay association inspired by the Cuban writer Jose Marti started the special prayer crusade last May.  Each final Sunday of the month, Cubans who are interested gather together in their local churches to pray for unity.

Moises Leonardo Rodriguez, one of the crusade organizers, said on the last Sunday of November more than 300 people participated in the crusade.

In the city of Santiago de las Vegas, for example, Catholics prayed and walked seven blocks to place flowers at a statue of Jose Marti.

Another 45 individuals who offered prayers for unity in Cuba at the Church of our Lady of Charity in Havana placed flowers at a monument in honor of the eight medical students who were shot on November 27, 1871.