Cubans celebrate Virgin of Charity

CASSELBERRY | On Sept. 7, 2024, Ramón Hernández proudly carried the American flag in the opening procession of the Mass for the Virgin of Charity, patroness of Cuba, held at St. Augustine Parish in Casselberry. The American flag recognized the country whose charity opened its arms to him, his family and countrymen.

The Mass is something he participated in with his wife, Teresita, before she entered into eternal life. The couple helped start the annual tradition in 1968.

Father Tomás Hurtado, pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Casselberry, is also a Cuban immigrant – from Santa Clara.

Ramón Hernández proudly carries the American flag for the procession at the Mass honoring the Virgin of Charity, patroness of Cuba. The American flag is a homage to the country whose charity welcomed him and his countrymen. Hernández and his wife Teresita helped start the annual Mass in 1968. (ANDREA NAVARRO)

“As a Cuban, celebrating Our Lady of Charity is not only an honor, but a joy,” he said. “There we gather, all those who have come in exile. There we unite to remember and to celebrate that charity unites us and, in the love of Christ we are one people.”

The image of the Virgin of Charity was found more than 400 years ago, in 1612, floating in the Bay of Nipe on the northeastern coast of Cuba. It is said it was discovered after three men endured a storm, praying to the Virgin Mary for protection. Shortly after the water calmed, the statue of the Virgin was found dry, floating on the water.

During the wars for independence, to be a devotee of the Virgin of Charity was considered to be a supporter of insurrection and, at the request of the veterans of the wars of independence, on May 10, 1916, Pope Benedict XV proclaimed Our Lady of Charity the Patroness of Cuba.

Hernández remembers standing in the Plaza Cívica in Havana, Cuba in 1959, with thousands of Cubans honoring the feast day of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Our Lady of Charity), patroness of Cuba. “I was there with my then girlfriend, Teresita,” he said.

Hernández and Teresita married and moved to the United States in 1965. There was a very small Cuban community in Orlando, but the couple quickly made friends.

Father Fabián Gimeno, a Spanish priest, served at St. James Cathedral at the time. After attending a Cursillo retreat in Miami, he asked Hernandez to find others to join the retreat launched Cursillo in Orlando. The group of Cuban “cursillistas” grew. Missing their homeland, they wanted to honor their Cuban patroness. In 1968, the first Mass for the Virgin of Charity was celebrated at the Cathedral. Eventually, the group decided to move the celebration to St. Augustine Parish in Casselberry for the growing Hispanic community.

The statue of the Virgin of Charity sits near the altar during a Mass in Our Lady’s honor, Sept. 7, 2024, at St. Augustine Parish in Casselberry. (ANDREA NAVARRO)

“Our Lady of Charity is a symbol of unity and patriotism for the Cuban people,” explained Maria Knoll who immigrated in 1979 from Cienfuegos. “Long before the Cuban people had a national anthem, a coat of arms or a flag, they already had the Virgin of Charity.”

Knoll is a parishioner of Annunciation in Altamonte Springs and helps coordinate the annual Mass.

“For Cubans in exile, the feast of the Virgin of Charity causes us to feel nostalgic for the land of our birth,” she added. “It is also a day when we get together to pray for the Church in Cuba, for the political prisoners, and for the Cuba of the future, a country ‘for all and for the good of all,’ as dreamed by our founding fathers.”

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, September 12, 2024