Obama Visits Miami Shrine In Nod To Cuban Americans

Obama Visits Miami Shrine In Nod To Cuban Americans
US President Barack Obama speaks with Father Juan Rumin Dominguez as he visits the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami to pay his respects to the Cuban-American diaspora who worship at the church on May 28, 2015. Obama paid the surprise visit Thursday to a church in Miami popular with Cuban exiles, amid moves by Washington and Havana to normalize ties after five decades of enmity. AFP PHOTO/NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama speaks with Father Juan Rumin Dominguez as he visits the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami to pay his respects to the Cuban-American diaspora who worship at the church on May 28, 2015. Obama paid the surprise visit Thursday to a church in Miami popular with Cuban exiles, amid moves by Washington and Havana to normalize ties after five decades of enmity. AFP PHOTO/NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

MIAMI, May 28 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama toured a Catholic shrine beloved by Cuban Americans on Thursday, a nod to his pledge to end more than 50 years of hostilities with Cuba and restore diplomatic relations and commercial ties.

The Cuban exile community in south Florida has been split on Obama's move to normalize relations with Cuba - a deal that Pope Francis and other Catholic officials helped broker.

"The president is visiting the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami to pay his respects to the Cuban-American diaspora that worship there," said Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, in a statement.

"He will honor the sacrifices that Cuban-Americans have made in their pursuit of liberty and opportunity, as well as their extraordinary contributions to our country," Meehan said.

The Miami shrine features a replica of a statue of the Virgin Mary known as Our Lady of Charity found floating on the coast of Cuba by fisherman. The original statue is at the shrine of El Cobre near Santiago, Cuba. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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