Sunflowers grace Miami shrine as Cuban Americans celebrate feast of Our Lady of Charity

MIAMI (OSV News) -- Dressed in the customary yellow colors of the event and with umbrellas in hand, elementary school student Aniela Alejandra Garcia and her mother, Yeily Garcia, didn't let the weather stop them from approaching the statue of the Cuban Virgin of Our Lady of Charity.

"I was helping people with the candles," Aniela told the Florida Catholic, Miami's archdiocesan news outlet. She made the remarks as she joined the local Cuban American community Sept. 8 in placing bright yellow sunflowers and candles outdoors during a recitation of the rosary followed by Mass at the the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami.

The color yellow is customarily associated with the Virgin of Charity, and her shrines -- including the one in Miami -- are often graced with yellow flowers.

Affectionately known as La Ermita de La Caridad, the shrine is located near Coconut Grove. This year was also the 25th anniversary of La Ermita's designation as a national shrine by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2000.

Flash flood warnings and epic rain may have shut down flights at the Miami Airport Sept. 8 but it didn't stop faithful from making the pilgrimage to Biscayne Bay for the annual feast event.

Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski did, however, take the decision to move the closing Mass indoors due to lingering lightning and rain and a somewhat reduced turnout due to difficulties many people had in getting to the location.

The Mass concluded a series of anniversary events that had begun Aug. 23 with a procession of the statue of Our Lady in Broward County and concluding at La Ermita.

"It's crazy weather and perhaps many of the people who arrived here today -- not from Cuba but from Hialeah," Archbishop Wenski said in jest as the rain made for challenging conditions. "They come because of their devotion to the Blessed Mother, the patroness of Cuba Our Lady of Charity, and all throughout the day today there are people entering and leaving saying their prayers."

It was a "special day for Cubans everywhere," he said. "Our Lady of Charities has become a symbol of the identity of the Cuban people everywhere and it shows that the Cuban people are very much tied to their faith."

Established by the Cuban exile community more than 55 years ago and following the Cuban Revolution, La Ermita deLa Caridad stands as a spiritual beacon on the shores of Biscayne Bay, a testament to faith, heritage and the unbreakable hope of all people united by devotion to Our Lady, according to Father José Joaquin Espino, rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity.

The shrine was designated as a special place for prayer this Jubilee Year.

The shrine's anniversary celebrations embraced the theme "María, Faro de la Libertad / Mary, Beacon of Freedom," a reflection of the light and hope Our Lady offers to all who seek her intercession.

The annual event took on a special meaning this year for Cristina Medio, a physician assistant and Cuban American, who was on the eve of departing for an annual medical trip and health care mission for the poor in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

The medical mission program is sponsored by the Miami-based Cuban Association of the Order of Malta and brings together hundreds of health care specialists and volunteers from around the United States in the Dominican Republic's second largest city.

Medio works next door to the Miami shrine at the Mercy Medical Building near Mercy Hospital and so she had a short walking distance to visit the shrine. She was joined at the celebration by other Cuban-American members of the Order of Malta.

"September 8 is a big deal for anyone of Cuban descent," Medio said. "And imagine that I was born right here at Mercy Hospital and working here since 2002, and I went to La Salle - Immaculata High School (also on the same property as the shrine."

Medio said her faith inspired her to start working on medical mission trips some 15 years ago after meeting other nurse participants and Dr. Jose J. Centurion, a Mercy Hospital-affiliated cardiologist and member of the Cuban Association of the Order of Malta who helped establish the order's medical mission outreach to the Dominican Republic as well as other locations.

"At that time I was a social worker and I thought, ‘What am I going to do there, I am a social worker?'" Medio said, who now helps oversee the pharmacy operation during the mission.

"Everyone said trust me, there will be plenty for you to do,' and so I went once and I have not stopped going there since. The people are so appreciative and you really get to see that what you do goes a long way."

"Not only is it medical care," she said, "we provide them with medications, we do surgeries and it is such a rewarding experience. I will be going around everywhere during the mission this time."