Visit of Pope John Paul ii to Cuba, 1998

In 1998, Pope John Paul II visited Cuba to connect with the people by delivering a sermon at a public mass. The video attached is archival footage showing what the visit was like. There are noticeably large crowds, and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro is standing front and center during the sermon, even nodding along at some points. The Pope does speak in Italian, with a Spanish translator communicating the Pope’s message. The event also had a large choir and the venue was well decorated and quite full of people. The sermon focused on anti-capitalist themes, which pandered greatly to Cuban beliefs, and emphasized what he believed was the Christian soul of Cuba (John Paul II 553-554)

Catholicism in Cuba

While a Pope visiting a country is almost always a celebrated event, in Cuba there is a more complicated history behind the visit. Catholicism has a consistent presence in Cuba during the latter half of the twentieth century that consisted of many Cubans identifying as Catholic, yet very few active in their practice of the religion (Kuivala 309-310). The more prominent religious practice was African based religions such as Santaria (Domínguez 45-46). 

When Fidel Castro and his revolution gained power, they created a campaign against the Catholic Church specifically. Castro claimed colonial influence was continuing through the church and demanded the collapse of the institution. This included deporting almost twenty percent of the priests in Cuba. Many members of the church such as priests and nuns were not Cuban but European born, which further supported Castro’s claim against the church as an institution (Domínguez 47-48). 

Castro’s change in attitude towards the church

In the 1980’s however, Castro changed the Cuban designation of religion from atheist to secular. This opened the door for more religious freedom, with was previously frowned upon by the government. This change eventually resulted in the Pope’s visit in the following decade, showing Castro’s changing attitudes towards the church (Chomsky et al 553). 

the modern church in Cuba

The church remains very private however, operating with caution by putting barriers on what archival items they allow to be viewed, especially ones from the revolution period (Kuivala 314-315). Yet the change in Castro and the Cuban governments attitude towards the church could be the institution itself adapting to Cuba and working to become a more successful version of itself for post revolutionary Cuba (Domínguez 58-59; Kuivala 312).

works cited

Cardenal, Ernesto. “The Catholic Church and the Revolution.” In The Cuba Reader: History, Culture, Politics, edited by Chomsky Aviva, Carr Barry, Prieto Alfredo, and Smorkaloff Pamela Maria, 450-52. Durham; London: Duke University Press, 2019.

Domínguez, Jorge I. “International and National Aspects of the Catholic Church in Cuba.” Cuban Studies 19 (1989): 43-60.

Kuivala, Petra. “Is There Church History in Revolutionary Cuba? Accessing and Analysing Cuban Catholic Sources.” International Journal of Cuban Studies 8, no. 2 (2016): 309-28.

Paul, Pope John. “Pope John Paul II Speaks in Cuba.” In The Cuba Reader: History, Culture, Politics, edited by Chomsky Aviva, Carr Barry, Prieto Alfredo, and Smorkaloff Pamela Maria, 553-54. Durham; London: Duke University Press, 2019.

By Lilia Federico

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