Miami: Our Lady of Charity, Faith & Cuban Heritage

A Catholic Pilgrimage Through Faith, Exile and the Cuban Catholic Story in Miami

4 Days / 3 Nights | Miami, Florida | Special September 8 Departure | Available for Parish and Catholic Groups

Discover a Story of Faith That Crossed the Sea

Few places in the United States bring together Catholic faith, immigration, exile and cultural identity quite like Miami.

At the heart of that story stands Our Lady of Charity — Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre — Patroness of Cuba.

For generations, devotion to La Caridad has accompanied Cuban families through moments of joy, uncertainty, separation and new beginnings. When thousands of Cubans arrived in South Florida, they brought that devotion with them.

Miami became a new home, and eventually the waters of Biscayne Bay became the setting for one of the most beloved Catholic places in the Cuban diaspora: the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity.

This pilgrimage is designed around the annual celebrations of the Feast of Our Lady of Charity on September 8, allowing pilgrims to experience the devotion not simply as visitors, but alongside the Catholic community that has kept it alive.

But the journey goes further.

We discover the early Catholic history of Miami at historic Gesù Church, encounter the story of Cuban refugees at the Freedom Tower, explore Little Havana and Calle Ocho, and visit the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora.

For our family, the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity is also a place for which we have developed a very special affection over the years.

Our relationship with Catholic communities in Miami has given us many opportunities to visit the Shrine, pray there and experience firsthand the extraordinary devotion surrounding La Virgen de la Caridad.

For that reason, this is a pilgrimage particularly close to our hearts — an opportunity to share with other pilgrims a sanctuary and a Catholic community that have become very dear to our family.

Pilgrimage Highlights

• Feast of Our Lady of Charity — September 8 — participate in Miami’s great annual celebration honoring the Patroness of Cuba.
• National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity — pray at the beloved Ermita de la Caridad overlooking Biscayne Bay.
• The Story of La Caridad in Miami — discover how devotion to the Virgin accompanied Cuban Catholics into exile and became part of the spiritual identity of Miami.
• Historic Gesù Catholic Church — visit Miami’s historic Catholic mother church, whose origins date to 1896 and whose history later became intertwined with the Cuban exile community.
• Freedom Tower — encounter one of Miami’s great symbols of Cuban immigration and the story of thousands who began new lives in the United States.
• American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora — explore the history, memory and cultural experience of Cubans in exile.
• Little Havana & Calle Ocho — experience the neighborhood that became one of the cultural hearts of Cuban Miami.
• Miami City Tour — discover Downtown, Biscayne Bay and some of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods and landmarks.
• Cuban Culture & Cuisine — enjoy opportunities to experience the flavors, music and traditions that have shaped Miami.
• Holy Mass, prayer and spiritual reflection throughout the pilgrimage.

Our Lady of Charity & the Cuban Exile

Perhaps the most important story encountered during this pilgrimage is how a Marian devotion became a bridge between a homeland and a new home.

Our Lady of Charity had been loved in Cuba for centuries before the political upheavals of the 20th century.

When Cuban families left their country, they could not bring their homeland with them.

But they could bring their faith.

Images of the Virgin appeared in homes.

Families continued praying to La Caridad.

Her feast continued to be celebrated.

And eventually a sanctuary dedicated to her rose beside the waters of Miami.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity consequently tells two stories at once.

It tells the story of a centuries-old Cuban Marian devotion.

But it also tells the story of a community determined to preserve its faith, identity and memories while beginning again in another country.

Standing before Biscayne Bay, the pilgrim begins to understand why this particular place means so much to generations of Cuban Catholics.

Gesù: Catholicism Before Modern Miami

Miami’s Catholic story did not begin with the Cuban exile.

Historic Gesù Church takes us back to the origins of the city itself.

Its parish was established in 1896, the same year Miami was incorporated, making it an extraordinary witness to the development of Catholic life in South Florida.

Decades later, the parish would find itself serving a dramatically changing city as Cuban refugees began arriving in large numbers.

Catholic institutions responded with assistance to families beginning their lives again in the United States, and Gesù became part of that history.

This makes the church particularly meaningful within our itinerary.

At Gesù, we encounter the early Catholic history of Miami.

At the Freedom Tower, we encounter arrival and exile.

In Little Havana, we see a new community taking root.

And at the Shrine, we discover how faith gave that community a spiritual home.The Freedom Tower & the Cuban Diaspora

For many Cuban families, Miami represents both loss and beginning.

The Freedom Tower became one of the great symbols of that experience.

Thousands of Cuban refugees passed through the assistance system headquartered there after arriving in the United States, receiving help as they began rebuilding their lives.

The building consequently represents something much larger than architecture.

It represents arrival.

Nearby neighborhoods tell what happened next.

Businesses opened. Families settled. Spanish filled the streets. Parishes welcomed new members. Traditions were preserved and adapted.

Miami changed  and the Cuban community changed with it.

By combining the Freedom Tower, Little Havana, the Museum of the Cuban Diaspora and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity, our pilgrimage explores not only where Cuban exiles arrived, but how a community rebuilt itself without forgetting where it came from.

A Pilgrimage Particularly Close to Our Family

Some pilgrimage destinations become special to us not only because of their historical importance, but because of the relationships and memories we develop there.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity is one of those places for our family.

Through our many years working with Catholic communities and parishes in Miami, we have developed a particular affection for the Shrine and for the devotion surrounding Our Lady of Charity.

We have visited and prayed there on many occasions, and it is a place we are always happy to return to.

This pilgrimage therefore has a particularly personal dimension for us.

We are not simply introducing pilgrims to another destination.

We are inviting them to experience a sanctuary, a devotion and a Catholic community for which our own family has tremendous affection.

More Than a Pilgrimage to Miami

Miami is often presented through beaches, architecture, nightlife and tropical landscapes.

Our pilgrimage discovers another Miami.

A Miami shaped by people who arrived after leaving almost everything behind.

A Miami where Catholic institutions welcomed newcomers.

A Miami where an old Cuban devotion found a new home.

At Gesù, we encounter the beginnings of Catholic Miami.

At the Freedom Tower, we remember those who arrived in exile.

In Little Havana, we encounter the community they built.

At the Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, we preserve their memory.

And beside Biscayne Bay, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity, we discover the faith that accompanied so many of them across the sea.

On September 8, all these stories come together.

Thousands gather around the same Virgin their parents and grandparents loved in Cuba.

For some, she represents home.

For others, family.

For everyone, she points beyond exile and history toward Christ.

This is not simply a tour of Miami with a visit to a Catholic shrine.

It is a pilgrimage through the story of how faith crossed the sea — and helped a community build a new home without forgetting the one it left behind.

Important Information and Terms and Conditions