Prayers to save Cuba unite the diaspora

Frances Martel Via Brietbart Cuba

The prayers occurred alongside a massive event in Miami, Florida, that day April 26th 2026 titled “United for a Free Cuba” that featured a wide variety of artists, journalists, former political prisoners, activists, and notable individuals within the Cuban exile community. The event attracted national attention the United States, but, U.S.-based organizer Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat told Breitbart News, it was meant as a support event for what was taking place on the island – a collective prayer in the context of a larger Christian resurgence in a country with more than half a century of history of Christian persecution.

From far-west Pinar del Rio province to eastern Camagüey, worshippers organized under the banner of the “Save Cuba” initiative, which was launched in January as a spiritual accompaniment to the now-common anti-communist protests throughout the island.During one event, a speaker prayed for a future free of communist dictatorship, and for forgiveness from Jesus for the campaign waged against His faith following the Castro family coup.“We want change. We want to save our country. We ask forgiveness, Lord, because Cuba distanced itself from you,” the speaker shared, while those assembled took to their knees. “We ask for forgiveness, Lord, because every family distanced itself from you, because we took Christ out of our homes, because we gave our backs to the cross, to the tomb.”

The presence of Christian faith front and center in the struggle for Cuban liberation is not new – priests participated, for example, in the planning of the 1961 Bay of Pigs liberation attempt thwarted by Democrat President John F. Kennedy. For years, the Ladies in White – a group of mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters of political prisoners – protested against the regime solely by attending Catholic Mass dressed in white and carrying the photos of their imprisoned loved ones. In Florida, attendees at the “United for a Free Cuba” prayer rally explained the importance of faith in the movement.