Patriarch Blesses Church in Cuba

Jan 26, 2004 09:44 AM EST

To commemorate the newly built Orthodox Church in Cuba, Christian Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I was granted a visit to the once officially atheist country. On Sunday, January 25, Fidel Castro gave the keys to the church to the patriarch. The visit of the Patriarch is the most important to Cuba by a religious leader since Pope John Paul’s historic trip in 1998.