The National Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, one of the religious sites most revered by Cuban Catholics, needs help after being badly damaged this Wednesday by the powerful Hurricane Melissa.
This is what he explained in statements to EFEthe rector and parish priest of the Sanctuary, Rogelio Dean Puerta, who pointed out that the temple of the Patroness of Cuba suffered “partial deterioration” due to the intense scourge of Melissa, which with category 3 (out of 5) on the Saffir-Simpson scale, punished the east of the island with intense rains and strong winds.
“He damaged half of the basilica’s stained glass windows, the carpentry, he tore out doors and windows…,” said the priest, who was nevertheless confident in the recovery.
Despite the damage, Dean assured that within two days the church plans to resume its religious activities.
The Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity, declared a National Monument in 2012, is located on a hill in the small town of El Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba.
Every day, more than 500 people visit the church, where mass is celebrated every morning, and people also come from different parts of the island to fulfill promises and leave offerings to the Virgin.
Extensive damage
Although in recent hours Hurricane Melissa has continued to move away from Cuba, its eastern provinces remained under cyclonic alarm until Wednesday night.
In these territories, official media have reported flooding, severe damage to homes and other infrastructure, overflowing rivers, landslides, cut-off communities and damage to telecommunications, among other damage that has not yet been quantified.
“It has been a night of great pain and great tension. Hurricane Melissa hit the town of El Cobre with incredible force. The elderly say they had never seen anything like this before,” the rector of the National Shrine of the Virgin of Charity previously said in an audio released on social networks.
The parish priest said that the panorama that could be seen from the Sanctuary was that the town that houses it was “devastated”, because “practically only the houses with masonry roofs remained undamaged.”
For this reason, he called on “friends from sister churches, organizations, groups, brotherhoods, dioceses, congregations and NGOs to direct their gaze toward eastern Cuba at this very difficult time.”
He also urged “groups of local brothers who can contribute their efforts and help in the restoration of houses and the Sanctuary.”
