Faithful Unable to Travel to Cuba Unwilling to Miss Historic Moment

Cuban-Americans of all generations burst into song, following along with the thousands gathered in their homeland for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit. Short of going to Cuba, the shrine of Our Lady of Charity is the next-best place to observe the pope’s visit for people in South Florida. Elsa Lavernia, who left Cuba 40 years ago, was among those who went to the Coconut Grove church Monday night. “There’s a lot of suffering, there’s a lot of things that we don’t see on TV that’s hidden behind the scenes,” she said.