The everyday life of our Diocese of Cienfuegos, Cuba, let itself be amazed by the arrival of the first Religious of the Assumption, on that 24 March 1996. Joy, simplicity, closeness and tenderness seemed to win the hearts of the people with whom the sisters worked and whom they met along the way.
Pastoral work and shared life, in the city of Cienfuegos and later in the municipality of Cumanayagua and Esperanza, witnessed an Assumption that goes out to meet the other in order to share what gives meaning and joy to our lives: Jesus Christ and the Kingdom. In every formation meeting, talk, visit to families, accompaniment of the Social and Health Ministry, Youth and Vocational Ministry, children's catechesis, as well as freely given and affectionate gatherings, a mark of love, dignity, humanity, respect for difference and, above all, a trace with the flavour of the Incarnation remained.
Over these 30 years, the Assumption in Cuba has left a mark of personal and communal transformation that can be felt in the daily life and work of those who have shared it with us. A mark that has transformed sisters and laypeople into paths that speak of: a life rooted in Jesus Christ, joy that makes it possible to continue the difficult road of each day, closeness that turns sadness into deep gladness, loving presence that accompanies loneliness, men and women who respect and care for life, creativity that arises even amid scarcity, going out of oneself to reach those who suffer, and a deep sense of being Assumption.
It has sown love and hope in a people thirsting for God. With tenderness, it has drawn near to and accompanied wounds, sufferings and anxieties, and has been present in the joys and gladness of so many children, adolescents, young people and adults. It has walked in the midst of the people and with the people, bearing witness to the mercy of God and to a simple and joyful life. It has let itself be transformed and enriched by the sense of celebration, the generosity, the solidarity, the sense of family, the welcome and the joy of the Cuban people. The Charity that unites the Cuban people has also united the Assumption in one same love that walks towards Jesus and in a tenderness that has transformed the everyday.
Sr. Yania Soto
Province of Central America and Cuba