In a grand, 18th Century former seminary in Old Havana, the Catholic Church is quietly helping to shape the new Cuba. Where once it trained future priests, it is now helping to train young entrepreneurs - preparing a new generation of young Cubans, keen to take advantage of the economic and social reforms under way on their island.

“Taking the spirit of this house from the past, we want this to be a place of union, dialogue and reflection once again – and a place for projecting the future for Cubans,” Father Yusvany Carvajal, the rector, explains of the old seminary which also houses two magazines and discussion groups. Some of the great thinkers of Cuba’s history once passed through its classrooms.

“The church has a very serious social responsibility to Cuba. Just as in other eras it trained lay people who could think and work in the world of politics, culture and religion, the Church today sees a need to form lay people to participate in the social life of the current Cuba.”

For three decades, Communist-run Cuba was an atheist state. Many Cubans worshipped secretly, to avoid problems. Now officially secular, the island’s churches have been filling up again and the Catholic Church has been emerging from the shadows to adopt an increasingly important role.

Sarah Rainsford explores this new, resurgent Church in the midst of a changing Cuba. She meets young Cubans like Sandra who turned to the old seminary for training to set-up her new soap business. Sandra was a teacher, earning $12 a month. Now, she’s one of a breed of hopeful new entrepreneurs.

“There is a risk,” Father Yusvany explains to Sarah, “that Cubans wake up and see that being a businessman is no longer a crime; that they’re allowed to create a private business, a restaurant, or a hostel say, in their homes. They don’t have the tools to do that, so we give them to him,” he says.

But the Church wants to impart more than that.

“The Church has an ethical view of the economy, and that’s what we teach here. We don’t want Cuba to be converted into a jungle of enrichment - at any cost.” Show less