The Kissimmee City Council issued a decree Tuesday calling for 40 days of prayer in solidarity with Puerto Rico and its ongoing recovery from the damagde Hurricane María caused last September.
Kissimmee is the first city in the United States to adopt the decree, “40 Days of Celebration of Life, Love, and Family,” which originated in Puerto Rico. It’s been implemented in the 78 municipalities of the island.
The decrees have been approved in other parts of the world as well, like Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and India. The organizers are hoping to take the proposal to Colombia and Cuba next.
On Tuesday, religious leaders from Puerto Rico and Florida joined Kissimmee Mayor José Álvarez and Comissioner Olga González to make the proposal official at a City Council meeting. The decree invites residents to join in prayer, regardless of their faith.
“It’s an honor they have chosen the City of Kissimmee. The city always opens the door to everyone in the community, especially to those who are coming from Puerto Rico,” Álvarez said.
Regino Babilonia, the event’s coordinator, visited for the ceremony and thanked the city for the unconditional support it has offered to Latinos, specially Puerto Ricans who sought refuge after the storm.
“We’re here to thank Kissimmee and all of Florida, which has received so many immigrants and many Puerto Ricans, specially after Hurricane María,” said Babilonia.
The Puerto Rican Bishop Ángel Marcial Estades will lead the movement across Florida. He praised Kissimmee and its government during the meeting and called for residents to join so their lives can be filled with “joy and peace.”
Marcial Estades was recently named bishop for Latin America, where he will oversee 14,000 churches in the region.
“I’m honored. It’s an opportunity God has given me to serve [brothers and sisters] in Latin America, whom for many years I’ve served here, and now I’m going to be at their homes with them, with the same joy and enthusiasm I always feel for the Latin American people,” said Marcial Estades.
The 40-day prayer decree will start on Aug. 21, with prayers from 6 to 7 a.m. at 4267 Yates Road in Kissimmee.