” “350,000 pictures of the infant Jesus were handed out door by door in Cuba at Christmas time. "A success", stated the Portuguese section of "Aiuto alla Chiesa che soffre" (Aid to the suffering Church) (Acs), which regards the initiative of the "Missionary Christmas" promoted by the 11 Cuban dioceses as "an epoch-making sign of religious expression in Cuba", with thousands of volunteers moving door to door to hand out leaflets and speaking to Cubans about the Christian meaning of Christmas. According to Acs statistics, the number of practising Catholics in Cuba is on the increase: approximately 90,000 people take Holy Communion every week. The Cuban bishops are confident in the fruits the Christmas initiative will bear, not least because the Cuban authorities have placed no constraints. In the meantime, in the diocese of Santa Clara, the traditional Lent pilgrimage of the pictures of the infant Jesus and Our Lady of Charity, Cuba’s patron, has already begun, as reported by the agency Fides. The Cuban Catholic communities traditionally have holy pictures, which are taken on a door-to-door pilgrimage. On these occasions, neighbours are asked to join in reading the Bible and praying all night.” “
