PROSPECT HEIGHTS — The deteriorating condition of the electrical power grid in Cuba is preventing a group of Discalced Carmelite nuns in that country from fulfilling their mission of baking Communion hosts for the nation’s Catholic churches, according to members of the New York State Knights of Columbus, who are raising funds to help the sisters.
The Knights started a fundraising effort to help purchase and install solar panels at the Monastery of Santa Teresa and San Jose, which will give the Discalced Carmelite Sisters of Havana consistent electricity so they can bake Communion hosts in their electric-powered ovens.
The Knights, who began the drive in September, have already raised most of the $35,000 goal, according to Father Michael Gelfant, pastor of Blessed Trinity Parish in Breezy Point and chaplain of the New York State Knights.
“The project has already started because of the urgency of getting the solar panels in place,” he explained. “So, the equipment has already been ordered. We’re waiting for it to get in. Then, it will be installed.”
The solar panels are needed because Cuba’s aging electrical grid has left much of the island facing frequent blackouts — a serious problem for a monastery whose electric ovens are used to bake Communion hosts for Catholics across the country.
According to EnergyNow.com, Cuba’s electrical grid and oil-fueled power plants were built decades ago, are broken down, and in danger of becoming obsolete. Additionally, the U.S. has placed an oil embargo on the island nation.
As a result, the nation’s 10 million citizens must endure frequent electrical blackouts and service interruptions.
“They make the hosts for the entire island,” Father Gelfant said. “Here in the United States, we think, ‘If I can’t get something at this store, I’ll just go to another store.’ But they can’t do that.”
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Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Octavio Cisneros, who is Cuban and maintains ties to the country, said the sisters baked 1.9 million Communion hosts last year.
Even with the electrical problems plaguing the monastery, Cuban Catholics have still been able to receive the Eucharist at Mass because of donated Communion hosts that have been shipped to churches from outside the country, Bishop Cisneros explained.
“They are working from the generosity of people. But that’s not the way it should be,” he said.
Bishop Cisneros learned of the situation in August from Cardinal Juan García Rodriguez of the Archdiocese of Havana, when they attended the Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Denver.
Cardinal García Rodriguez told Bishop Cisneros about the plight of the nuns and asked for his help.
“He said, ‘Some days they go without electricity for 24 hours. Some days, they have it for a while, and then it goes off. It becomes very difficult for them to manufacture the hosts,’ ” said Bishop Cisneros, who is a fourth-degree Knight. “And since we were at the Knights of Columbus convention, I asked the New York State Knights, who I was with, to help.”
Father Gelfant said the Knights eagerly heeded the call.
“We … have a saying, ‘Where there’s a need, there’s a Knight.’ And the Knights in Brooklyn and Queens in particular have always looked at a larger charitable effort, not just helping a family here and there,” he added. “We always look for larger projects.”
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The Knights are sending the donations they receive to the Felix Varela Foundation, a charity founded by Bishop Cisneros, who is the postulator for the cause for canonization of Father Felix Varela (1788-1853), a Cuban priest and human rights advocate. The foundation then uses the funds to purchase the solar panels. The effort was set up this way to ensure that everything is done through the Church with no government involvement, given the current relationship between the U.S. and Cuba.
Bishop Cisneros said he is pleased with the fundraising effort so far.
“There is a ministry that is being done by the Carmelites, and that is essential,” he said. “And so many people have generously given to the Knights of Columbus so that the sisters can continue to do that which is essential — giving food from heaven.
“It is important to have food to eat, but it is equally important to have spiritual food. It brings hope.”
HOW TO HELP
You can donate by check to help the Discalced Carmelite Sisters of Havana purchase and install solar panels. Checks should mention “Felix Varela Foundation” in the memo field, be made payable to “NY State Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc.,” and mailed to:
NY State Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc.
P.O. Box 8
Hopewell Junction, NY 12533-0008