The Pope Benedict XVI, who officiates at a solemn mass in Santiago de Cuba, prayed that all people born in this country, wherever they are, recognize themselves as siblings beyond any difference”.

The attendants also prayed for the rulers and authorities of the nation so that “they can always seek for the good for everyone”; for the suffering and for the integrity of families.

After that, the Supreme Pontiff read the oldest prayer of the Catholic Church in the presence of a replica of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, housed in a sanctuary named after her.

Despite the heavy rain, thousands of believers and non-believers stayed at the square till the end of the liturgy.

Translated by Yudith Madrazo Sosa