My wife and I walked into the Nuestra Senora del Carmen Church located on Infanta Street in Central Havana, Cuba just as the 6:00 p.m. Mass on Easter Sunday was beginning on March 23rd.
Unlike what some people might imagine, the atmosphere was similar to that in any other Latin American Catholic Church. The doors were open, there were no police in sight and the worshippers of mixed age were relaxed and at ease. I greeted a former news agency co-worker who was in one of the back rows.
There was one important difference, though. Instead of a packed congregation in predominantly Catholic countries, the church was no more than 75 percent full.
We took a good look around the beautifully adorned baroque church inaugurated in 1927 with its main and side altars and attractive art work including the painted tiles, mosaics, ceiling and wall murals, and the spectacularly decorated hard wood pulpit.
At the beginning of the Mass, the officiating priest, whose accent seemed to be from Spain, spoke of the festive nature of the anniversary, remembering the resurrection of Christ as, “the most important day on the Catholic calendar.” He also reminded people that their contributions would go to projects “in the hands” of Cardinal Ortega, mainly to make repairs on churches in the different parishes.
Neither my wife nor I practice a religion but it was not the first time we’ve walked into a place of worship in Cuba to observe the atmosphere. We have also gone to ceremonies of the Afro-Cuban “Santeria” religions (originating out of a blend of West African religion with Roman Catholicism so as to make it appear back then to their Catholic slave owners that they were converted to their master’s religion).
The Afro-Cuban religious influence is readily visible on the streets in dress and accoutrements. People initiating into the religion wear all white from head to toe for three months or longer. Different colored necklaces and bracelets as well as scarves, hats, umbrellas etc. also have their significance. Driving percussion music that often spills out into the streets sometimes accompanies religious ceremonies along with sensual, improvisational dance.
Our neighbors and co-workers belong to a mixed bag of religions. Others are agnostics or atheists.
A look at the 2007-8 telephone book white pages for Havana shows 129 “Churches and Places of Worship” listed. These include: Catholics, Baptists, Adventists, Methodists, Episcopalians and Pentecostals. Santeria, mostly conducted out of homes, has many followers while there are small numbers of Jews and Muslims.
We also have friends and acquaintances participating in programs of ecumenical faith based civic organizations that work along with local government institutions to confront social problems such as alcoholism, drugs and domestic violence with an emphasis on raising awareness and consciousness among the population.
I have been to many Catholic Churches throughout the world, although they have similar service, there’s always this one unique thing that distinguish that worship from the rest. But hey, personally, the religious atmosphere in Cuba is not really that quiet different from other places.
