Following the tradition of those who founded the Villa de San Cristobal of Havana and like the great men and women who have succeeded him in five hundred years of history, the Church in Cuba began her homage to Wonder City singing in the S.M.I. Cathedral a Te Deum, hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God for her creative work.
In a celebration presided over by Cardinal Juan de la Caridad García, Archbishop of San Cristobal of Havana, and concelebred by most Cuban bishops, God was thanked for the people who for 500 years have accompanied this city and its people, with an emphasis on the twenty-two bishops who have had the ecclesiastical province since its erection as diocese in 1787 and archdiocese , in 1925. He also remembered priests, religious, nuns, deaconos and lay people.
Representatives of the Greek and Russian Orthodox Church, Ms. Caridad Diego Bello, head of the Office of Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, other Party and Government officials, as well as accredited diplomatic staff on the island, were present at the ceremony.
“God does not need to be defended, it is defended by nature”, with this phrase Cardinal García recalled in his homily the Cuban National Hero and illustrious Habanero, José Martí, who taught in her his thinking around the Creator of this fertile and beautiful land.
At the end of the song of Te Deum a message sent to the Cubans and, especially to the Habaneros, by the Holy Father Francis was projected. The Pope stressed the importance for the life of cities of faith, hope and charity as core values. He recalled that faith is at the roots of the city, “and at the roots, he said, is the centrality of Christian life.” On Charity he emphasized that it is an aspect that distinguishes the Cuban people, who encouraged to live this Jubilee for the half millennium of the city of Havana with reanimated hope.
The religious ceremony was enlivened by a choir very nourished under the direction of the teachers Alina Orraca and Corina Campos, accompanied by the musician Moisés Santiesteban. To finish those present, they sang the Hymn to St. Kitts.
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