Miami celebra el 50 aniversario de la "Operación Pedro Pan"

Operation Pedro Pan Group marks 50th anniversary

Communications Department - Archdiocese of Miami

Press Release

Members of Operation Pedro Pan Group will mark the 50th anniversary of the airlift that brought 14,000 unaccompanied minors from Cuba to the U.S. with a Mass of thanksgiving on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 3 p.m. at Immaculata-La Salle High School in Miami.

 

The Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Wenski and will be followed by the dedication of the original La Salle building in honor of Msgr. Bryan Walsh, the Catholic priest whom the Pedro Pans consider their “foster father.” The building will be renamed the Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Humanities Pavillion.

 

The Mass and rededication ceremony will come at the conclusion of three days of Pedro Pan-related activities, Nov. 18-20. On Friday, Nov. 18, Archbishop Wenski will kick off a day-long conference on “Pedro Pan: A 50-Year Perspective,” with a reflection on the legacy of Msgr. Walsh. Other speakers that day include:

• Carlos Eire, T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University and author of "Waiting for Snow in Havana";
• Jaime Suchlicki, director of the Institute for Cuba and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami;
• Juan Clark, emeritus professor of sociology at Miami Dade College;
• Victor Andres Triay, professor of history at Middlesex Community College;
• Dermot O'Brien, nephew of Msgr. Walsh;
• Chris Baker, son of James Baker, the headmaster of Ruston Academy in Havana, whose search for exit visas for 200 of his students helped launch Pedro Pan;
• Armando Valladares, former Cuban political prisoner and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights; and
• María De la Milera, Eloy Cepero and Marcos Kerbel, who will reflect on their Pedro Pan experiences from the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish perspectives, respectively.

The conference will be held at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cost is $50 and includes breakfast and lunch.

The Pedro Pans also will gather Saturday evening for their annual Thanksgiving gala and dinner dance. Click here for more information.

 

A reception will follow the Sunday Mass and building rededication. Immaculata-La Salle High School is located at 3601 S. Miami Ave., on the edge of Biscayne Bay and next door to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity.

 

For more information or to register for these events, contact members@pedropan.org.