The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, attended the Thanksgiving Mass on Thursday for the pontificate of Pope Francis, held in the Holy Cathedral Church of Havana, where faithful Catholics, representatives of Orthodox Churches and other Christian denominations, to give honors to the high pontiff.
At the entrance to the Cathedral, the Apostolic Nuncio in Cuba, Antoine Camilleri, greeted the Head of State in a gesture of thanks for his presence in the religious ceremony, in which authorities of the party, the State and the Cuban government were also present.
The Mass of Honor to the Pope is a sample of the communion of the Cuban Church with the feeling of world Catholicism, after the death of the Pontiff on April 21.
During the 12 years of his pontificate, the Pope contributed decisively to the strengthening of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Holy See. Those links, which this year are nine decades, have been maintained uninterrupted since 1936.
Just in the cathedral where the liturgical celebration was held, his holiness held a meeting, in September 2015, with part of the Cuban and foreign clergy that served in Cuba at the time of his apostolic trip to our country.
On that occasion, Francisco was in the provinces of Havana, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba, in the latter he visited the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre.
The Apostolic Nuncio spoke of Cuba’s affection for the love of Cuba by pronouncing the homily of the Mass, because, the Pope said, “I loved this country very much, the Cuban Church, the Cuban people.”
In a special way, he remembered the life of delivery to the humanity of the Pope, who was not only the Holy father of Catholics, he was a father for all without distinction, with special attention for the vulnerable, the excluded, those who feel that they do not fit anywhere.
It also meant the bet of the Pontiff for Peace, even in forgotten conflicts, and its different and innovative perspective.
“May your example inspire us to continue walking together in faith, hope and love,” he said.
In the farewell of the liturgical celebration, Monsignor Ramón Suárez Polcari, Vicar General and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Havana, thanked those present for going to pay tribute to the Supreme Pontiff.
