On July 20, Cuban Catholics gathered at St. Ita Church in Mother of God Parish to pray for the people in their homeland.

The service was a response to July 11 protests in which thousands of Cubans in Havana and in 14 other Cuban cities took to the streets to protest economic hardships, lack of basic freedoms and the Cuban government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, making for what some have described as the most significant unrest in decades.

The statue of Our Lady of Charity, the patroness of Cuba, which is permanently enshrined in the church, stood beside the altar during the service, which included eucharisitic adoration, recitation of the rosary and the broadcast of a homily by Archbishop Dionisio García Ibáñez of Santiago de Cuba.

Historically, St. Ita, 5500 N. Broadway St., has a special connection to the Cuban people. After the revolution in the late 1950s, Cuban refugees arrived in Chicago and settled on Winthrop Avenue in the early 1960s, making St. Ita Church their spiritual home.

“Since we’re not in Cuba and cannot physically protest, we believe the best thing that we can possibly do is pray, and pray to our patroness and ask her with all our hearts, to please intercede so there is no more violence against the people of Cuba, that the riots are recognized, that they can finally enjoy freedom,” said Margarita Garcia, president of the Our Lady of Charity of Cobre Association.

St. Ita is home to the association, a longstanding group of Cuban parishioners who for more than 50 years have celebrated a devotion to Our Lady of Charity, the patroness of Cuba, one of the most important symbols in Cuban culture.

Garcia came to the United States in 1967. While she knows the situation in her home country is different from when she left, she still knows what they are going through, she said.

“It is absolutely horrible,” Garcia explained. “I’m asking everyone to continue to pray and, if at all possible, to write to their representatives and senators asking them to intercede for the people of Cuba and to touch hearts. A lot of people just don’t understand what a dictatorship can do to people. We need to come together in prayer with love and compassion, but in truth.”

Frank Camacho immigrated to Chicago with his family when he was a child and attended the service to connect with fellow Cubans to see how they can mobilize to better help their people.

“We are a people that have a lot of faith. [Our Lady of Charity] is our patron and we are here begging for her intercession and protection and to basically set the people free because that is what we want,” he said. “A lot of people are not aware of what is really going on.”

The people want freedom and that is what they care about, he said.

“It’s been 62 years. That’s long enough,” Camacho said, adding that his parents always wanted to return to Cuba but were not able to before they died.

Since July 11, the Cuban government reportedly has responded by arresting people, including clergy, not only on the streets but also in their homes. There was at least one confirmed death after police shot a man taking part in the anti-government protest. The government also has restricted internet and phone service.

On July 20, the Wall Street Journal reported: “The whereabouts of hundreds of arrested demonstrators is unknown and others are being held incommunicado without charges nine days after nationwide demonstrations rocked the Caribbean nation.”

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Contributing to this story was Catholic News Service