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Article: Cubans urge sainthood for 19th Century priest.(Originated from Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- January 18, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MIAMI _ Cuban patriot Jose Marti once visited the grave of Father Felix Varela and called the 19th Century priest _ who labored to free his homeland from Spanish rule _ ``the Cuban saint.''
Now Cuban Catholics on the island, in South Florida and throughout the Cuban diaspora are waiting anxiously to learn if Pope John II agrees.
The Vatican has been investigating whether Varela should become the first Cuban officially declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
Scholarly church detectives, including a Miami parish priest and a retired college professor from Key Biscayne, have traveled widely and searched intensely to help the Vatican ...