Cubans trek barefoot in colorful St. Lazarus procession to honor patron saint
Date
12/19/2024 6:47:27 AM
(MENAFN) The pilgrims crawled onward, some hardly moving along the rocky ground, their hands, knees, and elbows rubbed raw. The St. Lazarus procession is one of the largest and most colorful religious processions held in ostensibly secular Cuba each year.
To display their devotion, many of Cubans trek for miles barefoot to the modest church known as El Rincón — the corner in Spanish — on the outskirts of Havana ahead of December 17, the saint's feast day.
“It was a tradition of my father’s and I have followed it for 27 years since he passed away. Lazarus grants me what I ask for,” stated pilgrim Fernando Valdez, following walking without shoes for more than five hours on destroyed routs.
In the New Testament, Jesus raised Lazarus four days after his death, making him the patron saint of the impoverished and sick. Many Cubans requesting a desire from the saint wear garments made of rough cloth bags to signify poverty.
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