Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Jan 28, 2019 / 18:01 pm
The first new Catholic church in Cuba since the the country's revolution 60 years ago was inaugurated on Saturday.
Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Sandino, 45 miles southwest of Pinar del Rio, was inaugurated Jan. 26. It is the first of three new parishes to be completed; the other two will be in Havana and Santiago. It was built on land granted by the state.
"To see this finished is like coming out of the night into the day," said Father Cirilo Castro, who supervised the construction of the church, according to CNN. "We knew it would happen one day," he added.
The church is a sign of the country's increase of religious freedom. Communist rule was established soon after the conclusion of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, which ousted the authoritarian ruler Fulgencio Batista.