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The Cuban bishop who just a few days ago met with Pope Leo XIV amidst the worst energy crisis the Island is experiencing now faces a health issue in Rome.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba announced on February 23 that Monsignor Silvano Pedroso Montalvo, Bishop of Guantánamo-Baracoa, is suffering from "severe gastritis" while he remains in the Italian capital. In the coming days, he will undergo diagnostic tests to determine the treatment to follow.
The Episcopal Secretariat urged the faithful to unite in prayer for his recovery and for the Diocese he leads in the eastern part of the country. "Our Good Father watches over his pastor in this moment of physical fragility," they expressed, entrusting his health to the intercession of the Blessed Mary, Health of the Sick. Caritas Cuba also joined the call, emphasizing spiritual communion with the prelate.
The news arrives in a context filled with symbolism. Monsignor Silvano was the only Cuban bishop who managed to travel to Rome for the ad limina visit, amidst blackouts and a fuel shortage that forced the rest of the episcopate to cancel the trip to stay with their communities.
On February 20, he held an audience with Pope Leo XIV and participated in meetings with several dicasteries of the Curia. His presence in the Vatican came at a time when the economic and energy crisis in Cuba has turned any international travel into an odyssey. His trip was already assured before travel restrictions were implemented, allowing him to keep to the planned agenda.
During his stay in Rome, he also met with the American diplomat Mike Hammer, at a time of political tensions and diplomatic movements that have once again placed Cuba at the center of international attention. However, now the focus shifts to the human aspect.
From Guantánamo to Baracoa, communities marked by poverty, blackouts, and constant emigration, the Church has invited people to live these days as a time of unity and prayer. For many believers, the bishop's illness is not just a medical condition, but another test amid a complex time for the nation.
Spiritual solidarity thus becomes a bridge between Rome and the eastern part of Cuba, as Catholics on the Island and in the diaspora raise their prayers for the swift recovery of Monsignor Silvano.
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