Sep 2, 2015 Preparations were underway in Havana in preparation for a visit from Pope Francis in September.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, will be visiting the island from September 19 to 22. According to sources, the visit will also feature an outdoor mass at the Revolution Square for the country’s Catholic faithful.
Luis Perez, an architect and the construction manager in charge of infrastructure for the mass, said that Pope Francis holds a special place in his heart.
“It’s the first Latin American pope, that is to say, we have the same Latin blood, and that doesn’t mean we love him more than past popes but one always feels the importance of the current pope and logically since all of them have had the same criteria for love and dedication, there is always something that calls your attention a bit more which is the case of this work,”
While finishing touches were being put on the Revolution Square altar, Restorer Inelys Abad said that his team was putting in extra hours to make sure the city’s cathedral in Old Havana was in top shape for the papal visit.
“To do something that normally would take one year in the period of three months is a big step for us, very hard work is being done – starting from around 6 in the morning we are working,”
Yamila Rodriguez also said;
“We are restoring the choir stalls which is where the canonical choir is going to sit and where Pope Francis is going to sit when he comes to offer a celebration here in the cathedral on the 20th of September,”
Pope Francis will be the third Pope to visit the island in the last 17 years, following Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict’s visit in 1998 and 2012 respectively.