Sitting in front of the sacrarium in a wheelchair Maria Emilia hear Mass every Sunday morning at nine o’clock in the Church of Monserrate. Maria Emilia is 115 years old, has a lucid mind and a body that seemingly resists the inevitable, happy and cruel, passing of time.
Her legs have begun to fail but she retains a prodigious inner strength that has allowed her to be present and be faithful to her service to the people and history of the southern city of Cienfuegos.
In her hands, she is holding several copies of Christian Life catholic pamphlet, which she distributes at the end of the Mass, as if her life’s mission was not yet complete.
I walk over to her place and remind her that we had made arrangement to meet up this Sunday morning. The gentleman who takes her home sitting on a bench behind us. I bend my knees and cautiously approach the recorder. Maria Emilia’s voice is shaky, but nice.
“There were 13 of us growing up” Maria Emilia patiently tells me, we got along very well. From little nippers my mum taught us to share, to pray, to read … I remember that in the room there was a picture of the Virgin of Charity, and my mum always told us: throw her kisses. We prayed before going to bed and when we got up. Now it’s just me, on my own, -she clarifies-, all my brothers and sisters have died, one at 108, another at 100, another at 90-old “.
Maria Emilia was born at the beginning of the twentieth century, on 5 January 1901. When asked about the things she remembers, she quickly responds:
“I remember that here in Cienfuegos people lit their houses with carbide lamps, and there were lanterns in the corners, I think we still have one of those at the Cathedral in San Carlos Street. I remember a night watchman who called and played a rhythm with a stick on the doors. He said, ‘ten o’clock’, so that everyone would go to sleep; no one could leave the house after that.” She laughs briefly, savouring the images that appear with her words. “They used to sell water in kegs and it cost about 10 cents. They put out big tanks for the rainwater to fill and that was used for washing. I remember the first power plant that was in front of the Luisa Theatre… ”
Two ladies arrive at the spot where Maria Emilia, in a few minutes, recalls, if it were even possible, the memories of more than a century. One carries cane and walks slowly, “I have one just like that at home to help me walk,” says Maria Emilia after asking her about her daughter and her family. She knows how to identify every person who she knows, and every person who knows her, and even those in passing, all whom go to her place to give her displays of affection.
When she returns to our conversation, she says, “I remember the day I saw the return of the Halley Comet. I saw it when it was returning to Earth, over in the west and I have waited for it ever since. Before I used to say, ‘oh, I won’t see it, my brothers said, ‘oh, I won’t make it. Look, I’ve got here, and I have not seen it again. ”
Nothing has been so difficult that it has caused Maria Emilia stop attending the church of Monserrate where she has worked for more than 30 years. “I worked here in the Sacristy, I was sacristan for a long time.” Then lists some of the priests of the Jesuit order who were ordained while she was present: Father Oscarito, Ignacito, Ramon Rivas …
“Now I’m 115 years old, imagine, and most of my time is spent sitting, but they bring me every Tuesday and Friday. I come to Sunday Mass at 9:00 am. ”
Before I can say anything more, Maria Emilia goes ahead: “and what church do you go to?,” I tell her that I don’t go to any church, and she spends the remaining time suggesting that I do so. She tells me about the benefits, about what it has meant to her: “Look, I worked in a rental house for many years and now I have no retirement, but the people of the Church are very good and always take care of me; you know, you should get baptised.”
I thank her for her time, for talking to me. The man who must take her home is a bit impatient and then grabs the handles of the wheelchair and soon disappears between banks and sculptures of Jesus, Mary … Perhaps Maria Emilia go too fast for his liking, but she has already seen life pass so quickly over all of her body. With her hand she holds herself up straight as ever. In a few seconds they leave through the door and the holy place is even darker and totally silent.
