By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros announces his plan to help refurbish and improve the national shrine to Our Lady of Charity in El Cobre, Cuba, by asking for "un peso" (or one dollar or euro) from every Cuban living in the diaspora.
Tradition holds that three fisherman found the image floating in the water after praying for safety during a terrible storm. Since then, Our Lady of Charity has found a home in the heart of the Cuban people, who venerate her as Cuba�s patroness. And the National Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre that houses the original image has become a place of pilgrimage.
The sanctuary, located within the Archdiocese of Santiago on Cuba�s eastern edge, has fallen into disrepair during the past few decades, but plans are underway to refurbish and improve the church and adjacent facilities in preparation for the celebration of the 400th anniversary.
During a Mass Nov. 8 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami, Brooklyn�s Cuban-born Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros announced that he had begun a non-profit organization aimed at helping Archbishop Dionisio Garcia of Santiago obtain the necessary funds and materials for the refurbishing of the shrine.
Bishop Cisneros noted that Archbishop Garcia had begun a nationwide campaign asking for �A peso from every Cuban� on the island. Bishop Cisneros said he was changing that motto to �A dollar from every Cuban� in the U.S., or �A euro from every Cuban� in Europe.
Among the repairs that need to be made, he said, is making the area where the statue is venerated accessible to the disabled and the elderly. The shrine also needs new facilities for the housing of pilgrims.
Contributions to the reconstruction of the basilica in El Cobre should be sent to: Our Lady of Charity of Cobre Foundation, P.O. Box 40368, Glen Oaks, N.Y. 11004-0368.
