|
With HOPE in the HEART
A short
Chronicle of the exploration of two Pastorelle Sisters in Cuba |
| |
|
Fr. Jesús F. Marcoleta Ruiz
Parish Priest of Cantel and Varadero
Matanzas,
Cuba
|
 |
| |
|
Towards the
end of March 2011, I travelled in the city of Santo Domingo, the
capital of the Dominican Republic. As usual, every time I visit this
city, I go to the bookshop of the Daughters of St. Paul, where I
created, little by little, a good relationship of fraternity,
especially with Sr Cinthia Lopez. To her and Sr Cristina, who is an
Italian elderly Sister, superior of the community, I expressed my
desire of inviting in my pastoral zone, a group of religious for the
apostolic work.
It was Sr Cristina who suggested to me the Pastorelle Sisters and
provided me with the address and the name of the Superior General
who lives in Rome. It was the first time I heard of this
Congregation. Unaware that the work of Blessed Alberione had
exceeded the scope of the media and of the liturgy, and was
concerned also to give a female face to the pastoral adventure in
parishes.
Once I returned to Cuba, I informed my Bishop of my intentions, and
he himself wrote to Rome to the name and address indicated. Shortly
afterwards he received a confident reply by Sr. Marta Finotelli,
Superior General, in which she informed that she was finishing her
mandate and that the request would be submitted to the General
Chapter, which among other things, had the task to elect new
Superior General; luckily our Sr. Marta was re-elected.
Hope was increasing with the approval by the General Chapter of a
foundation in Cuba. The communication and the migration practices
have allowed the visit of exploration by Sr. Marta Finotelli and Sr.
Marisa Loser, General Councillor, both of whom I have had the joy of
welcoming at the international airport of Havana, Monday February 6,
2012. After four thirty in the afternoon, we began our trip to Cantel, in the province and Diocese of Matanzas.
The town of Cantel, the place of the possible future foundation of
the Pastorelle Sisters, is 140 kilometres east of the nation's
capital; it is a small, beautiful, very quiet locality whose
population basically live on tourism and agriculture. |
| |
|
 |
|
The
coast along Cantel and Varadero |
| |
|
We arrived
at Cantel at night, at the beautiful house, with a conventual flair,
the property Sonia and Gerald Sprengel, a Cuban-German couple, who
offered hospitality, care and a family environment to Sr. Marta and
Sr. Marisa while they remained with us.
Tuesday 7, before ten in the morning, I went to pick up Sr. Marta and
Sr. Marisa to begin the itinerary of the planned visits. We left for
the city of Cárdenas, which has a population of about 130,000, where
I live with my mother, whom we called in to see, and then we went to
the Missionaries Sisters of Charity, a religious community
established in this town by Mother Teresa of Calcutta in 1988. At
around 13.00, we had lunch in my parish of Varadero and, shortly
after, we began a journey through one of the most important tourist
centres of the country, overlooking 23 miles of beach with very fine
white sand.
At 17.00, we celebrated the Eucharist and detained ourselves for a
time of sharing with the parish community of Varadero, who were
eager to meet the "new monjitas (nuns)". At the end of the
day, we returned to the serene environment of Sonia and Gerald’s
house. |
| |
|
 |
|
Sr. Marta talks with the participants
of the Eucharistic celebration |
| |
|
Wednesday 8,
began at 10.00 a.m. with a meeting of the small community of the
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the small town of Camarioca,
the oldest of the whole area, 5 kilometres away from Cantel, where
we returned to visit Mr. Julio Santamaría, a campesino (peasant),
a long standing member of the parish, who suffers from a serious
bone problem. Lunch was offered by María Martínez, a family of
Cantel.
Around 15.00 o’clock, we arrived at the home of Mrs. Gardenia
Llerena San Martín, in the town of Boca de Camarioca, where the
community waited anxiously for the celebration of the Eucharist.
Boca de Camarioca was a small fishing town; today it has become a
city. From here, after the Cuban revolution of 1959, occurred the
first mass exodus of Cubans to the United States. Every Saturday
morning, Holy Mass is celebrated in the house of a lady of the
community; here we celebrate also the baptisms, hear confessions and
administer the anointing of the sick, because the chapel was
confiscated in the early 1960s and designated as a warehouse for
food products.
At the end of the Eucharist, Sr. Marta and Sr. Marisa were welcomed by
the community with a fraternal moment of sharing. After some time we
left for the town of Las Carboneras and, later, visited the
international airport. The evening, at Sonia and Gerald’s house, was
spent with the aroma of a good risotto prepared by Sr. Marta.
Thursday 9, we began the day earlier because Mons. Manuel de
Céspedes, Bishop of Matanzas, was expecting us, at his office in the
city of Matanzas. The whole province and diocese is named Matanzas
and since 1693 is under the patronage of St. Charles Borromeo.
The dialogue, a little in Spanish and a little in Italian, lasted
more than an hour. While evaluating conditions and variations, the
hope grew that, this year 2012, by the month of October, the first
Pastorelle Sisters would arrive in Cantel, for the first time not
only in Cuba, but also in the entire Caribbean.
After meeting with the Bishop, I accompanied Sr. Marta and Sr. Marisa
to visit part of the city and the Yumurí Valley. We got up to the
Monserrat Hermitage, an ancient pilgrimage centre of the Catalan
people in Matanzas, it enjoys a panoramic view of the Valley, the
Bay and the city of Matanzas. Here Sr. Marta lost all the pictures in
her camera by giving a wrong command: the wonders and the limits of
modern technology.
On our return we had lunch at the home of Ana María Lauzurique, in
Cantel, and at 16.00 we celebrated the Eucharist in the parish
church, the first Church of Matanzas, dedicated to our Lady, the
Virgin de la Caridad del Cobre in the year 1862. This is
highlighted in the context of the coming celebration of the fourth
centenary of the discovery of the Virgin de la Caridad,
patroness of Cuba, and the 100th anniversary of the canonical
erection of the Diocese of Matanzas. Following the celebration of
the Eucharist, the community offered a fraternal agape to the
Pastorelle Sisters who were visiting. |
| |
|
 |
|
The Parish Church and the
Parish convent of Cantel |
| |
|
 |
|
The garden of the Parish
Church and the Grotto of Our Lady – cantel |
|
 |
| |
|
At all the
gatherings, Sr. Marta spoke to the people present and from each of
her sharing grew the hope that a foundation of the Pastorelle
Sisters in Cuba could be a reality.
Friday 10, early in the morning, we went to Havana to show Sr. Marta
and Sr. Marisa the historical centre of de La Habana Vieja (Old
Havana) declared by UNESCO “World Heritage site” I wanted them to
know of the works of restoration that are being carried out and help
them enter in harmony with the Avanero that inhabits the deep
parts of that other unknown Havana. |
| |
|
 |
|
The Old Havana, in an old painting of
that epoch |
| |
|
 |
|
The Cathedral of Havana |
|
|
|
 |
|
The interior of the Cathedral of Havana |
|
|
|
 |
|
The Old Plaza of the Havanic historical
center |
| |
|
At noon, the
driver Alejandro Mayo and I left Sr. Marta and Sr. Marisa at Havana’s
airport. Their journey continued towards Mexico, from where Pope
Benedict XVI will arrive in his visit to Cuba, and from Mexico, the
Sisters would continue their journey to Peru.
The Superior General left the parishes of Varadero and
Cantel-Camarioca with a clearer picture of the reality for which the
requested was made, to have the apostolic service of the Pastorelle
Sisters. The vast territory and the major human pastoral challenges
convinced her that the work would be abundant.
We Cubans say, "It is not easy" but not impossible when it comes to
face the many difficulties of daily life. In fact, the Apostle Paul
sets the example and challenges us to take up the hard work of the
Gospel.
Happily and with some certainties Sr. Marta and Sr. Marisa left Cuba.
We, in the communities where I serve as Pastor, remain with hope in
our heart while dreaming of the month of October.
March 2012 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|