Even though the liturgical chant permeated the space with a solemn silence, it was not a usual mass. The Catholic faithful, those of other Christian denominations, representatives of Orthodox churches, all gathered in the Holy Church Cathedral of Havana, were uneasy at the beginning of the Mass.
After the recent death of Pope Francis on April 21, Cuba also joined the Mass of thanksgiving for his pontificate, which was attended by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, to pay him well-deserved honor.
In the religious ceremony, in which two flags were present: the Cuban flag and the Vatican flag, the close ties of the Supreme Pontiff with the largest of the Antilles, with Fidel, with his just cause, were recalled.
"Pope Francis loved this country, the Church in Cuba and the Cuban people very much, and you could see it on his face and in his eyes when he told of the apostolic journey he fulfilled in Cuba, between September 19 and 22, 2015, visiting the cities of Havana, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Caridad del Cobre; and the other, shorter, on February 12, 2016, for his historic meeting with the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow," said the Apostolic Nuncio in Cuba, Antoine Camilleri.
The homily also said that, according to the words of the Holy Father, the Cuban people walk, sing and praise. "It has a taste for celebration, for friendship, for beautiful things. A people that has wounds, like all people, but that knows how to be with open arms, that marches with hope, because its vocation is one of greatness."
Pope Francis lived without distinction, without discrimination. He paid special attention to the marginalized, the vulnerable, migrants, children, the elderly, the excluded..., those who feel they do not fit in anywhere; and that is why he was "a gesture". Amidst prayers and praise, the world bids farewell to his papacy.
Present at the tribute were Political Bureau member Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs; members of the Party's Central Committee, Caridad Diego Bello, head of its Office of Attention to Religious Affairs; Marydé Fernández López, deputy head of its Ideological Department; and Ana María Mari Machado, vice president of the National Assembly of People's Power; as well as Eduardo Martínez Díaz, deputy prime minister; and other authorities of the Party, the State, the government and the diplomatic corps accredited in the country.
