The Cuban-American minister selected to give the benediction at President Obama's inauguration on Monday has ties to Miami. Luis Leon left Cuba for Miami in 1961 when he was only 11-years-old. He was one of more than 14,000 children spirited from Cuba as part of the famed Pedro Pan operation.
Leon is the second Cuban-American to be chosen to take part in the inauguration ceremony. Miami writer Richard Blanco was selected to be the inaugural poet.
Daniel Shoer Roth writes for El Nuevo Herald. He says having these two Cuban-Americans in prominent roles will help break national stereotypes about the Cuban American community.
"You know there's that perception world wide but especially in the United States that everybody who's Cuban and lives in Miami are these anti-Castro people making a lot of noise and very ultra conservative", said Roth. "And, they don't see that the Cuban American community is very diverse."
Leon is the pastor of the Episcopal parish closest to the White House.
A spokeswoman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee said the person chosen to pray would reflect the administration's beliefs. The Episcopal Church blesses same-sex relationships and elects bishops who live openly with same-gender partners.
Leon is replacing the Reverend Louie Giglio, an Atlanta pastor who stepped aside when it was revealed he gave an anti-gay sermon in the mid-1990s.