The procession precedes the celebration of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, patron saint of the island, popularly called ‘Cachita’
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 8 September 2024 –Dozens of devotees attended the mass and subsequent procession of the Virgin of Regla this Saturday, in the Havana municipality that bears her name, on the eve of the celebrations for the day of the patron saint of Cuba, the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre.
After the mass at the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Regla, a crowd accompanied the procession as they do every September 7, dressed in blue and carrying black dolls in allusion to the virgin who, in the Yoruba religion, resembles Yemayá, the goddess of the sea.
According to historical data, the cult of the Virgin of Regla began in 1867, in a wooden hermitage in the then fishing village of Regla.
In 1708, it was declared by the chapter of the town of Regla patron saint of the fishermen and the population, the port and the Bay of Havana.
This virgin was brought to Cuba by the Spanish colonizers who inherited the religion of Andalusia. This Catholic tradition has become common on the Island, where she is considered a protector of fishermen, sailors and all those people whose lives depend on the sea.
The church of the Virgin of Regla was built in 1811. It is a humble temple where the image of a black virgin dressed in blue with white lace stands out. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Regla was declared a National Monument in 1987.
This Saturday’s procession precedes the celebration on Sunday of the day of the Virgen de la Caridad, patron saint of the Island, popularly known as “Cachita.” African slaves recognized her in their Yoruba pantheon as the deity Ochún.
According to Catholic legend, the Virgin of Charity first appeared in 1612 with a child in her arms, floating on a board with an inscription that said: “I am the Virgin of Charity,” before three fishermen who sailed in a boat through the eastern bay of Nipe.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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