Cuban faithful crawl to Saint Lazarus sanctuary in show of devotion

Saint Lazarus is associated with helping the sick

(Reuters) – Lis Dominguez carries flowers as she crawls on her back in the dirt outside Cuba s National Sanctuary of Saint Lazarus. She pushes with her feet to propel herself up the sanctuary steps and then down an aisle in a show of devotion to a saint that she credits with saving her child s life.

"My devotion to Saint Lazarus is due to the life of my two babies. My baby was dead in my belly, they told us that he had died and they had to perform an emergency cesarean on me. My life was in danger, too, when I entrusted the life of my son to Saint Lazarus, my baby was born crying - a miracle," says Dominguez.

Dominguez is one of thousands of Cubans who paid homage to Saint Lazarus, a Catholic saint who doubles as a powerful deity in the Afro-Cuban Santeria faith, on Sunday (December 16) night.

The Saint Lazarus pilgrimage is one of the most important religious events on the island, melding Afro-Cuban faiths with Roman Catholic beliefs that were marginalized for decades after the 1959 revolution.

Devotees, who traditionally wear sackcloth and purple clothing as symbols of repentance, flock to the shrine at a church near the village of El Rincon in the countryside just outside Havana.

Saint Lazarus is associated with helping the sick, and many of the pilgrims go to ask the saint to cure relatives  ailments. Others make long, hard journeys barefoot or haul themselves along the ground on their hands and knees.