For more than three decades, communist Cuba was officially an atheist state. Many priests fled the country after the 1959 revolution, and those Catholics who continued practicing were viewed with deep suspicion.
But in the latest sign of warming relations between church and state on the island, the government has given the green light to plans for the first new Catholic place of worship since the 1959 revolution. And as the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford reports from Santiago, it won’t be just any church.
Note: This BBC piece can be heard in the Here & Now podcast or the WBUR mobile app.
Guest
- Sarah Rainsford, Havana correspondent for the BBC. She tweets @sarahrainsford.
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