The event, dedicated to Pope John Paul II and to Saints Peter and Paul, was received enthusiastically by Cubans in Miami.
``This is something that fills us with hope and accentuates our identification with our brothers on the island as they prepare to welcome the pope,'' the Rev. Francisco Santana, of Miami's La Ermita de la Caridad, said Monday.
A liturgical Mass in the open, with the participation of thousands of faithful, is a positive sign for the Roman Catholic Church and all Cuban Catholics, Santana said.
Monday's noon newscast on Cuba's state-run television carried a one-minute report showing footage of the Mass celebrated by Cuba's Cardinal Jaime Ortega and the apostolic nuncio, Monsignor Beniamino Stella. The telecast was the first of its kind in almost 40 years.
``I don't ever recall seeing a Mass on television or a priest speaking on the screen,'' said Maria Pineda, a Havana housewife interviewed Monday by phone. ``It's a sign that something in this country has changed.''
In another unusual act, AIN, Cuba's state-run domestic news agency, produced a brief report about the Mass, which was broadcast over local radio stations. Prensa Latina, which supplies news reports to the local and international media, issued two reports on the Mass.
The cathedral square was decorated for the event with Cuban and Vatican flags and a huge portrait of John Paul II, who is scheduled to visit the island in January. Members of the diplomatic corps and government officials were present, among them Deputy Foreign Minister Isabel Allende.
In his homily, Ortega referred to the pope's visit and to the challenges Cuban Catholics have faced in recent decades.
``In a way, with this celebration we begin today the immediate task of preparing the [papal] visit,'' Ortega said Sunday.
The Cuban Catholic Church is re-enacting ``the experience of the first Christian communities, which met in towns and neighborhoods where no temples existed,'' the cardinal said.
Last week, Cuba's Catholic bishops asked the government to carry live broadcasts of the Masses John Paul II will say when he visits the island.
``We included that request among the general requests we made, and we hope it will be granted,'' said the Rev. Jose Felix Perez Riera, secretary of the committee organizing the papal visit.
Copyright © 1997 The Miami Herald