The country’s bishops attended the inauguration June 26. They were celebrating together the 50th anniversary of the priesthood of Bishop Héctor Luis Peña of Holguin.
Episcopal conference sources said it is the first statue in Cuba dedicated to John Paul II, who visited the island nation in January 1998.
The life-sized bronze statue was sculpted by Cuban artists Henry Wilson and Héctor Carrillo. The Pope is standing, with his crosier and miter, giving a blessing.
When reporting the news of the statue’s inauguration in its Italian edition on Saturday, L’Osservatore Romano quoted words of John Paul II when he visited the island: «May Cuba open itself with all its magnificent possibilities to the world, and may the world open itself to Cuba.»
