10,000 attend celebratory feast

BY EUNICE PONCE

 It was a night of prayer, faith -- and yearning -- for thousands of Cuban exiles gathered at the AmericanAirlines Arena Saturday night to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the feast of Our Lady of Charity, patroness of Cuba, in South Florida.

 About 10,000 people, young and old, attended the event in downtown Miami, organizers said.

 Many remembered a pre-1960s Cuba and hoped for a time when they could celebrate the feast back on the island.

 "We're praying not just as regular Catholics, but as Cuban exiles,'' said Efrain Infante of Hialeah. "We're asking for her, through her son Jesus Christ, to restore democracy and peace to Cuba. Not by anyone dying, but in the way that God wants it to happen.''

 Infante was referring to recent news reports speculating that Cuban President Fidel Castro might be at the end of his years.

 "We also pray for more strength, harmony and some measure of tolerance for the exile community to help us survive this involuntary exodus,'' said Infante, who said he and wife Teresa attend the event nearly every year.

 That message, a hope for a democratic Cuba, rang through a rosary prayer led by the Rev. Luis Perez of St. Lazaro Catholic Church of Hialeah. He peppered the prayers with exclamations of "Virgin of Charity: Save Cuba,'' which the audience also chanted.

 Meanwhile, the image of the Virgin made its way from La Ermita de la Caridad, its national shrine near Mercy Hospital, on one of four small motorboats that traveled along Biscayne Bay to the arena.

 Live video of the image's progress along Biscayne Bay flashed across the overhead screens at the Arena. The statue was enclosed in a pyramid-shaped plexiglass cover on a base covered with yellow roses.

 It was a solemn event for many of those attending Saturday night's celebration. Some would walk into the arena asking, ``Is she here yet?''

 As the Virgin was brought inside the arena, the overhead screens depicted footage from the first time the feast was celebrated in Miami on Sept. 8, 1961 at Bobby Maduro stadium, after the statue had been brought from Cuba to Miami through Panama. More than 30,000 exiles attended that celebration.

 The faithful watched footage from the next 39 celebrations of the feast as they stood and waved small Cuban flags and handkerchiefs in white and yellow to welcome La Virgen de la Caridad.

 The ceremony ended with a mass presided by Archbishop John C. Favalora.

 Religious leaders say not only Cubans, but Hispanics from all over Latin America visit the Ermita each year to pay tribute to the Virgin of Charity. ``She is the symbol of the opening up of the American Catholic Church to the Hispanic presence here,'' said Rogelio Zelada of the Archdiocese of Miami.

© 2001