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SANTIAGO DE CUBA BISHOP CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF ORDINATION Santiago de Cuba, June 25, 2005. ICDPRESS. This Saturday the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, Monsignor Pedro Meurice Estíu, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination and gave an exclusive statement to this independent press bureau. The prelate confessed feeling like a “useless servant” upon reaching his fifty years of ministry. “I know that I have been a useless servant, but I have tried only to serve God, my Church, and my Country.”
Cuba’s 10 other catholic bishops, accompanied by 32 priests, 5 deacons, 12 acolytes, as well as more than 2000 faithful made the cathedral tremble with their applause while Monsignor P. Meurice made his way toward the main seat at the back.
He also noted that Monsignor is already part of the Cuban history and that the people cannot afford to lose their history because along with it, they could lose their freedom.
”We do not want our voice to lack on this special day of your jubilee for your fifty years of priesthood. We are certain that thousands of your faithful people will be with you on this moment. May you receive our blessings and our congratulations,” the Holy Father’s missive, dated May 26, 2005, expressed. Olga López, a retired professor, stated that the hundreds of people gathered at the cathedral did it for the love they felt toward the pastor and not because they were obligated by any means to participate, as it usually is for events that the government organizes. At the request of Monsignor Meurice, the people sang “Virgencita del Cobre” or “Our Lady of Charity from Cobre,” a song that is very special to him in which the image of the Our Lady of Charity, the Patroness of Cuba, is venerated.
Later the archbishop, dressed completely in black, said farewell to the Cardinal and took advantage of the time to exchange words with some of the faithful in the Franciscan patio. The same sky that had threatened everyone with dark clouds and downpours during the previous week, now granted a sunny day as a gift for the fifty years that this man has given to serve God. Send by E-mail | Printable Version
About the author Jorge Luis Ramón Castillo Activista cívico en Santiago de Cuba. En estos momentos dirige el Instituto Independiente Cultura y Democracia en esa ciudad, en sustitución de su hermano, José Gabriel Ramón Castillo, encarcelado y condenado a 20 años de prisión durante la ola represiva de marzo, 2003.
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