Pope Francis called for a “revolution of tenderness” while celebrating Mass in Cuba on Tuesday — hours ahead of his first papal visit to the United States.
The pontiff, who played a key role in brokering new diplomatic ties between Havana and Washington, urged the faithful near Santiago to break down walls and find forgiveness in their hearts.
“We are asked to live the revolution of tenderness,” Francis said at the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity in the former copper-mining town of El Cobre, just outside Cuba’s second-largest city, Santiago.
He recognized the struggle of Cuban citizens, and praised their ongoing resolve.
“The soul of the Cuban people … was forged amid suffering and privation which could not suppress the faith,” the beloved Argentine pontiff said. “Grandmothers, mothers and so many others … kept open a tiny space, small as a mustard seed.”
Pope Francis says a prayer at the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, the patron saint of Cuba — a mixed-race Mary who symbolizes the island’s intertwined Spanish and African roots — in Santiago de Cuba on Sept. 21.Getty ImagesThe pope spoke of the need of reconciliation, seemingly in a nod to US-Cuban relations, which are just now beginning to warm up after a half-century of Cold War.
“Like Mary, Mother of Charity, we want to be a church which goes forth to build bridges, to break down walls, to sow seeds of reconciliation,” Francis said.
Francis is set to leave Cuba on Tuesday afternoon for Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where he’ll be greeted by President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.
The pope will eventually make it to New York on Thursday for a two-night stay, highlighted by Mass at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
With Post Wires
