Entrusting people to Mary’s maternal care is a normal Catholic practice, but when Pope Benedict XVI prayed that Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre would wrap her golden mantle around the people of Cuba, it was particularly poignant.

For 400 years, Cubans–believers and nonbelievers alike–have brought their sorrows and joys before the little statue of Mary, and even Cuba’s communist rulers have claimed her as a cultural icon of the Cuban struggle for freedom and equality.

When Pope Benedict visited the Virgin’s shrine March 27, he joined the thousands of pilgrims marking the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the statue, and he echoed the prayers of many of them for a future marked by less poverty and greater freedom.

“I have entrusted to the mother of God the future of your country, advancing along the ways of renewal and hope, for the greater good of all Cubans,” he said.

With only Cuban bishops and priests, his Vatican entourage and a choir present inside the shrine of La Caridad, as the image is known, Pope Benedict first knelt in prayer before the Eucharist, then he stood and recited the special prayer that the Cuban bishops composed for the fourth-centenary celebrations.

He went up to the statue, lit a candle and stood in silent prayer for several minutes while a choir sang the “Salve Regina,” or “Hail, Holy Queen.”

Hundreds of pilgrims and visitors waited outside for a glimpse of the pope and a few words from him.

Leaving the shrine, the pope stood on the steps and told the crowd that the Virgin’s “presence in this town of El Cobre is a gift of heaven for all Cubans.”

On an island where families have been divided by exile, emigration and imprisonment, the pope assured the people that while inside he prayed to Mary “for the needs of all who suffer, of those who are deprived of freedom, for those who are separated from their loved ones or who are undergoing times of difficulty.”

He said he prayed for Cuba’s young people that “they may be authentic friends of Christ and not succumb to things which bring sadness in their wake.”

Pope Benedict prayed for families who live their faith and transmit it to their children and, especially, for the families “who offer their homes as mission centers for the celebration of Mass” in a country where the government restricts the building of new churches and where there is a severe shortage of priests.

The pope told the people to follow Mary’s example and build their lives “on the firm rock which is Jesus Christ, to work for justice, to be servants of charity and to persevere in the midst of trials.”

“May nothing or no one take from you your inner joy, which is so characteristic of the Cuban soul,” he said, before leaving the shrine to the rhythmic clapping and cheers of the crowd.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, home to the 400-year-old statue of Cuba’s patroness, has always been an impressive sight: a towering pale yellow basilica perched in the picturesque foothills of the Sierra Maestra.

It’s where Pope Benedict XVI will visit March 27, making him the most prominent of tens of thousands of pilgrims expected to make the trek to the shrine of La Caridad, as the image is known, in this 400th anniversary year.

He also will celebrate open-air Masses in Havana and Santiago de Cuba and meet with government and church leaders. But his main reason for coming, according to the Cuban bishops’ conference, is as a pilgrim of La Caridad. The Mass in Santiago also will be dedicated to La Caridad.

In the past three years, the shrine at El Cobre has undergone a gradual transformation in anticipation of the 400th anniversary. Peeling plaster has been repaired; new paint brightens walls; new dormitory rooms for pilgrims have been added and the existing ones updated. A chapel area has been remodeled for grateful and hopeful people to leave medallions and other remembrances for their petitions.

Funding for the repairs and upgrades came from across Cuba and from donors around the world. Brooklyn Aux. Bp. Octavio Cisneros, a Cuba native, and Santiago de Cuba Abp. Dionisio Garcia Ibanez toured the US a year ago, encouraging people to visit Cuba as pilgrims and raising money to make it all possible.

Glass cases hold some of the more poignant and well-known tributes: sports paraphernalia, letters, and an article about writer Ernest Hemingway’s gift of his Pulitzer Prize–the gold medallion itself is locked away. A marble tabletop nearby holds candles lit by those offering their prayers

The pope’s time at the sanctuary of El Cobre will be private and is scheduled for just one hour. Fr. Eugenio Castellanos, rector of the shrine, said people will be welcome on the grounds during the pope’s visit, but they will not be allowed inside the church. He said arrangements will be made so people outside can hear whatever the pope may say and view his visit on television screens.

Mass in Santiago de Cuba March 26 will be held in Antonio Maceo Revolution Square, scene of the 1998 Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. Archdiocesan organizers expect up to half a million people to come from across eastern Cuba, throughout the Caribbean and the US.

The Cuban government announced that people who wish to attend the Masses will be able to take the time off work with pay. Church officials in Santiago and Havana said the government had not yet decided whether the days would be declared public holidays to help with traffic flow.

The Mass in Santiago will be in the late afternoon, with participants expected to gather throughout the day. Tens of thousands of people are expected to line Pope Benedict’s route between El Cobre and Santiago, as well as the streets between Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport and his first stop in the capitol, where he will meet with the bishops of Cuba and civil authorities.

The March 28 Mass in Havana will be in Revolution Square, also the same location where Pope John Paul celebrated Mass.

Msgr. Jose Felix Perez Riera, executive secretary of the Cuban bishops’ conference, told Catholic News Service that the church is printing 300,000 copies of the program for the Havana Mass but that, as of early February, planners could only guess at how many people might attend. In 1998, an estimated 150,000 people attended the papal Mass in Havana.

In 1998, the four Masses celebrated by the pope were fairly evenly spaced across the island, in Havana, Santa Clara, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba, Msgr. Perez noted. The two liturgies planned for Pope Benedict’s visit are at opposite ends of the country, making for bus rides of four to five hours or more for many people who might want to participate.

Msgr. Perez said he had been quoted a price of $1.25 per mile per person for hiring buses, a prohibitive price in a country where the average monthly salary is about $20.