To commemorate the feast of St. James the Apostle, the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba, many Catholics from that diocese took part in a procession on July 25.
Santiago (St. James) de Cuba celebrated its founding 507 years ago as part of the unique event.
The same day, in the Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Archbishop Dionisio Garca Ibáez celebrated Mass with almost all of the archdiocese’s clergy present.
The archdiocese said on its website that “teenagers from numerous parishes in the city” assisted in organising the Mass.
Garca spoke to the time when the Spanish created the city and gave it St. James’s protection in his sermon.
They came with two desires, he said: the desire for power and wealth as well as the desire to spread the faith.
As he said, “May that desire for power disappear from us, and may what remains be the desire for justice, for good, for faithfulness, for the love of God, for being witnesses of Christ in the midst of difficulties.”
The prelate also referred to the patron of the city as an example and urged Cuban Catholics to emulate “his strength and decision” in evangelization and bringing hope to the archdiocese and the entire island of Cuba, particularly in trying times.
“In the midst of difficulties we have to give hope, and hope is only achieved in Christ Jesus,” he said.
“Hope is not found in human promises that you know well may or may not be achieved.
Jesus Christ “shall be with us and leads us through joy and adversity.” He’s leading us to meet him, he continued.
The city “would be a beautiful place in justice, charity, and peace” if every Cuban followed the saint’s lead.
Garca urged people to pray for the Cuban people, their political leaders in particular, and to “be more faithful every day.”
He said, “We must pray for our city and for the authorities so that they constantly seek the good of the citizens, respecting their rights, their freedom, and their desire for advancement, as well as their work, and that their decisions may be just in order to seek the good of all citizens.”
Following the Mass, the attendees filed past the statue of St. James in the cathedral to the church’s atrium, where the bishop blessed Santiago de Cuba.
Father Bladimir Navarro, a Spanish resident, told the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in mid-July that since the historic demonstrations of July 11, 2021, when Cubans from various cities on the island took to the streets to protest the “economic misery” and the fear and repression of freedom that they have endured for decades, the situation in Cuba has gotten “very much” worse.
According to Navarro, “if you raise your voice and tell the truth, they come after you, and they defame you.”
The priest claimed that numerous youths, including minors, who participated in the protests “are in jail” and that several of the sentences exceed 10 years.
He said that all they had said was, “We want freedom, we want life; we want to live and we don’t (just) want to survive.”
In order to secure the release of the imprisoned Cubans, Archbishop Garca prayed to the Virgin Mary on July 17, the day before the saint’s feast day.