MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Churches in Cuba celebrate Easter for the first time in over half a century

Raul Castro and Cardinal Jaime Ortega regime have worked together to improve relations

Bells rang from Roman Catholic churches throughout Havana on Friday to remember the death of Jesus Christ as Cubans celebrated a holiday on Good Friday for the first time in more than half a century.

The day off, granted at the request of Pope Benedict on his recent visit to the Castro brothers’ regime island, translated into quieter streets than usual, but only sparse attendance at a Mass in the city's main cathedral presided over by Cardinal Jaime Ortega.

About 100 people, a number of them tourists, showed up for the event, but many Cubans may have watched it on national television in a broadcast as rare for the Church and country as the holiday itself.

The Cuban government ended religious holidays after the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power. Castro reinstated Christmas as a holiday in 1998 at the request of visiting Pope John Paul, and his successor and younger brother, President Raúl Castro, declared Friday a free day following Benedict's trip to Cuba last week.

It was still to be decided if Good Friday will become a permanent holiday, the government said.

Ortega, who is Archbishop of Havana and the leader of Cuba's Catholic Church, spoke about the crucifixion of Christ in a homily that was heavy on the importance of religion and devoid of obvious politics.

Humanity had been pardoned by Christ for its many failings, but it still had not achieved “a kingdom of justice, peace, freedom and love among all human beings,” he said in the ornate, colonial-era cathedral in Old Havana.

Christians, Ortega said, are still persecuted in many places around the world, including Latin America “for having fought for justice.”

When bells began to toll, he said gravely, “It is three o'clock and they are ringing the bells of all our churches in Havana, the sign of mourning because it is the hour of the death of Jesus.”

Relations between the Church and Cuban government have warmed under Raúl Castro, who since succeeding his brother in 2008 has undertaken economic reforms that could bring increased unemployment and attendant social problems as he tries to remake the island's struggling Soviet-style system.

Benedict, who was in Cuba March 26-28, asked that the Church be able to expand its education and social programs, which he said could help Cuba through its time of change.