Cuban TV to broadcast Good Friday mass for first time in over 50 years

GlobalPost

State-owned television in Cuba is to broadcast a Good Friday mass for the first time in over 50 years, following a request from the Pope who visited the Caribbean nation last week.

The AFP news agency attributes the information to Orlando Marquez , who is the spokesman for the archbishop of Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega.

"Cardinal Ortega will celebrate the mass at the cathedral and the event will be broadcast live by Cuban television's education channel," Marquez is quoted as saying.

Caribbean 360 reports that Cardinal Jaime Ortega has referred to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit as a “springtime of faith”, as it also led to Friday being declared a public holiday for the first time since the 1959 revolution.

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The changes have been welcomed by the Vatican.

"It is certainly a very positive sign," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman is reported as saying by the Catholic News Service, adding that it would allow Catholics in the country to have "happy Easter celebrations."

"We hope it (the Pope's visit) continues to bring the desired fruits for the good of the Church and all Cubans,"  Father Lombardi concluded.

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