Cuba declares Good Friday a national holiday
April 02, 2012
Acceding to a request by Pope Benedict, Cuba’s Communist government has declared Good Friday this year to be a national holiday. The government will later decide whether to make the holiday permanent.
“The fact that the Cuban authorities have promptly accepted the Holy Father's request to President Raul Castro, declaring a holiday next Friday, is certainly a very positive sign,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said in a statement. “The Holy See hopes that this will promote participation in religious celebrations and happy Easter holidays, and that even after the visit of the Holy Father continue to bear the desired fruits for the good of the Church and of all Cubans.”
In 1998, Cuba’s government made Christmas a national holiday following an appeal by Blessed John Paul II.
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Further information:
- Cuba makes Good Friday a holiday after papal trip (AP)
- Father Lombardi on Good Friday in Cuba (Vatican Radio)
- Cuba: Good Friday Will Be a Holiday (VIS)
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