Cuban Foundation Project of Hinojo

After the Regular Visitation of August 1998 a community discernment process pointed to the possibility of making a foundation. At that moment we had no specific petitions so we oriented ourselves towards a foundation in Latin America, outside of Argentina, in a country still lacking a Trappistine monastery. The country most mentioned was Brazil due to its proximity and the presence of our brothers of Novo Mundo. During the Abbot General’s visit in Oct. 1998 we discussed the different possibilities taking into account those countries which still lack the monastic life. Fr. Bernardo recalled the petition made by the Bishops of Cuba during the Synod of the Americas to all the Churches of the Continent asking for their support at this particular moment of Cuba’s history when the local Church is experiencing a forceful new awakening. The call to Cuba reached us through various other channels, prompting us to contact Bishop Emilio Aranguren of Cienfuegos who had visited Quilvo two years previously to ask for a foundation.

At the Bishop’s invitation I visited Cuba for the first time towards the end of January of this year. Fr. Plácido of Los Andes, whose fraternal help I sought counting on his experience and knowledge of the Caribbean area, accompanied me. Although the principal area of focus was the Diocese of Cienfuegos in the central part of the country, we were able to gain a broader perspective of the Church and people of Cuba by visiting the National Shrine of Nuestra Señora del Cobre in the Sierra Maestra at the eastern tip of the island as well as the Archdiocese of Havana.

In Cuba we witnessed a Church full of life and growth, a church composed of “old Christians” who have endured with faith and courage the hard times imposed by a revolutionary government hostile to the Church but without the blatant persecution prevalent in Eastern Europe. These are being joined by “new Christians”, older folk who have come back to the faith and a growing number of young people who are drawing closer to the Church to receive formation and the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Certainly one senses a great thirst for God in a people with Christian roots who for forty years have been denied the full and open practice of their faith. The seeds of this faith have been preserved in the hearts and the culture of the Cuban people in many cases in spite of the lack of religious formation. The government still adheres to Marxist ideology but no longer upholds the principle of “scientific atheism”. Currently there seems to prevail an attitude of respect or, at least, of tolerance towards religion and a relative openness towards the Catholic Church. In fact, the Church has taken a vigorous step forward since the 80’s and has received an influx of priests and religious from Mexico, Colombia and Argentina as well as from Spain.

We were warmly welcomed to Cuba and Bishops, priests, religious and laity all expressed their strong desire that we make a foundation in their midst and the need the Cuban Church has for a monastic presence which has been lacking during the 500 years of Evangelization. During my two visits to Cuba I stayed with the Religious of Jesús María in Havana whose superior is the president of the Conference of Cuban Religious. This gave me the opportunity to discuss and evaluate with her various aspect of the current reality of religious life in Cuba. The Bishop and Diocese of Cienfuegos have expressed their firm commitment to the foundation project, for which they have great hopes. They are giving us support and help in the difficult and still unfulfilled tasks of obtaining permission from the local authorities to find a suitable property, to build and to obtain Resident Visas for 6 to 8 sisters. We visited various possible sites with Bishop Aranguren and made a tentative list of the steps to be taken once the necessary permits are obtained.

Our community is well aware of the challenge that awaits a foundation due to the particular political and socio-economic situation of Cuba but at the same time we perceive many signs of God’s Will which point towards this project and we feel called to undertake it. Several sisters who are available have volunteered and the community feels committed to the project.

With this in mind and seeing that the Cuban Government had made no response, a second visit seemed advisable in order to seek a personal interview with the authorities. The original petition had been made on our behalf by the bishop of Cienfuegos. I had two interviews, 29 Sept. and 1 Oct., with the provincial and national authorities of the Cuban Government and the Communist Party. On the whole the interviews proved positive. We were able to have a long and peaceful dialogue with the Secretary for Religious Affairs about the meaning of the monastic life. We expect to receive an answer towards the end of this year or at the beginning of the coming year. If the response is positive we will proceed to take the next steps towards making the foundation.