Pope Benedict XVI will visit the Basilica of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre

[Gardenia C. Hung]

On March 27, 2012, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will make a pilgrimage to the Basilica of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre during the 400th Anniversary of the finding of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre at the Bay of Nipe, near Santiago de Cuba.

The Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre has an inseparable presence in the religious culture of Cuba as the patron saint of the Cuban people.

All the cultural and religious manifestations of devotion have honored the Patron Saint and Mother of Cubans who acknowledge that her presence has developed our idiosyncracy, appreciating that the best of our national character traditionally affable, cordial and hospitable is derived from its maternal care and the educational force of Christian love.

Among the offerings and contributions, not only do we find symbols of the Cuban culture, we also find the celebrated American writer Ernest Hemingway who wanted to offer the medal which he was awarded for the Nobel Prize in Literature during the year 1956.

We all pray to the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre that Cubans be faithful to the Christian soul of our nation.

Calendar Design Work by Cosme Proenza (detail)
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Original translation from Spanish into English by GHung