Archbishop’s prayer for the family distributed in Cuba

Havana, Cuba, Feb 16, 2007 / 11:33 am

The international organization Aid to the Church in Need is distributing five thousand copies in Cuba of the Prayer for the Family written by Archbishop Emeritus Pedro Meurice Estiu of Santiago, as a tribute to his long years of service.
 
Officials from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN ) said the initiative was started in response to the announcement of Archbishop Meurice’s retirement when he reached the age of 75 in order to ensure that his legacy would be preserved among the faithful.  For this reason, five thousand copies of the prayer written by the archbishop were printed, together with images of Our Lady of Charity, the patroness of Cuba, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The president of ACN, Hans-Peter Rothlin, stressed the importance of the initiative.  “Cubans love holy images and symbols, but they have very few images and devotional objects,” he explained.

He said the pamphlets were an appropriate means of evangelization and of reminding Catholics of the teachings of the Church on the family.  “With a strong family, the Cuban people will be able to overcome any problem,” Rothlin stated.

The initiative has the support of current Santiago de Cuba Archbishop Dionisio Garcia, who expressed his determination to continue with the work in support of the family started by his predecessor.