- Title: POPE-CUBA/PREPS Cuba prepares for upcoming pope visit
- Date: 28th August 2015
- Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (AUGUST 27, 2015) (REUTERS) PAPAL ALTER IN HAVANA'S REVOLUTION SQUARE CHE GUEVARA IMAGE ON BUILDING IN REVOLUTION SQUARE VARIOUS OF WORKERS CLIMBING TO WORK ON ALTAR CROSS WORKERS WORKING ON ALTAR CROSS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CONSTRUCTION MANAGER FOR POPE'S MASS IN HAVANA, ARCHITECT LUIS PEREZ, SAYING: "It's the first Latin American pope, that is to say, we have the same Latin blood, and that doesn't mean we love him more than past popes but one always feels the importance of the current pope and logically since all of them have had the same criteria for love and dedication, there is always something that calls your attention a bit more which is the case of this work." REVOLUTION SQUARE VARIOUS OF WORKERS IN REVOLUTION SQUARE ALTAR IN REVOLUTION SQUARE EXTERIOR OF HAVANA CATHEDRAL CHURCH BELL CATHEDRAL CROSS RESTORATION WORK IN CATHEDRAL INTERIOR VARIOUS OF RESTORER INELYS ABAD WORKING ON ALTAR WOODWORK (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESTORER INELYS ABAD, SAYING: "To do something that normally would take one year in the period of three months is a big step for us, very hard work is being done - starting from around 6 in the morning we are working." VARIOUS OF RESTORERS INSIDE CATHEDRAL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESTORER YAMILA RODRIGUEZ, SAYING: "We are restoring the choir stalls which are where the canonical choir is going to sit and where Pope Francis is going to sit when he comes to offer a celebration here in the cathedral on the 20th of September." EXTERIOR WHERE JOHN PAUL II CHURCH WILL BE CONSTRUCTED SIGN WITH PICTURE OF JOHN PAUL II THAT READS :THE JOHN PAUL II CHURCH WILL BE BUILT HERE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WORKING ON CHURCH CROSS PLACE WHERE JOHN PAUL II TEMPLE WILL BE BUILT
- Embargoed: 12th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cuba
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA9WU9QSGX1WXQJRRNM201LD674
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Preparations were underway in Havana on Thursday (August 27) ahead of a visit from Pope Francis in September.
Argentine-born Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, will visit the island from September 19 to 22 where he is scheduled to hold an outdoor mass in the iconic Revolution Square for the country's Catholic faithful.
Luis Perez, an architect and the construction manager in charge of infrastructure for the mass, said he loved all popes equally but that Pope Francis held a special spot in his heart.
"It's the first Latin American pope, that is to say, we have the same Latin blood, and that doesn't mean we love him more than past popes but one always feels the importance of the current pope and logically since all of them have had the same criteria for love and dedication, there is always something that calls your attention a bit more which is the case of this work," he said.
While finishing touches were put on the altar, restorers were hard at work inside the city's cathedral in Old Havana.
Restorer Inelys Abad said they were putting in long days to make sure the cathedral was in tip top shape for the papal visit.
"To do something that normally would take one year in the period of three months is a big step for us, very hard work is being done - starting from around 6 in the morning we are working," said Abad.
"We are restoring the choir stalls which are where the canonical choir is going to sit and where Pope Francis is going to sit when he comes to offer a celebration here in the cathedral on the 20th of September," said restorer Yamila Rodriguez.
Pope Francis will be the third Pope to visit the island in the past 17 years. Pope John Paul II visited in 1998 and Pope Benedict in 2012.
While the Church's activities were suppressed for decades after the Cuban revolution, the government began loosening restrictions in the early 1990s.
Both of the Castro brothers were baptized as Catholics and educated by Jesuits, the worldwide Catholic order. Pope Francis is the first Jesuit pontiff. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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