Religion – Cubans in America

Añorga, Rev. Martin

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Rev. Martin Añorga was born in Matanzas, Cuba. Bachelor of Theology (Seminario Evangélico de Teología, Matanzas), Doctor of Pedagogy (University of Havana), Master in Theology (Princeton Theological Seminary in new Jersey), and Master of Education (University of Miami).

He started as a Pastor at a Presbyterian church in Cuba when he was in his 20s, until he left Cuba in the 1960s. In Miami, he was a pastor of the First Prebyterian Hispanic Church from 1963 until his retirement in January 1992. He founded La Progresiva Presbyterian School in Miami. The school was originally founded in Cardenas, Cuba in 1900 by Dr. Robert I. Wharton. In early 1981, he was one of the founders of a group of bilingual (English/Spanish) educational institutions of Dade County, Florida, who created the Council of Bilingual Schools (COBIS) in order to help maintain standards that would serve to guide, supervise, and improve the education of children, particularly those of Hispanic origin.

Boza Masvidal, Mons. Eduardo

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Mons. Eduardo Boza Masvidal was born in Camagüey, Cuba. He graduated from Colegio de La Salle, in Vedado, Havana and received a Doctorate in Philosophy and Letters in 1940 from the University of Havana. In 1935 he studied at the San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary. He was ordained on February 28, 1944 in the Cathedral of Havana by the Archbishop of Havana Manuel Arteaga-Betancourt and was assigned to the Parish of San Salvador in El Cerro, Havana for a year. He was then made a professor at the San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary and chaplain of the Colegio del Sagrado Corazón (School of the Sacred Heart). Later he was assigned to the parish of San Luis in Madruga and in 1948 assigned to the parish of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad (Our Lady of Charity), in Havana, where he remained until 1961. He was also prosecutor in the Ecclesiastical Tribunal and Rector of the Catholic Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva. He was chosen by Pope John XXIII as Titular Bishop of Vinda and Auxiliary Bishop San Cristobal de la Habana (Havana) on March 31, 1960. He was expelled by the Communist regime in September 1961. He participated in the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Founder of the “Unión de Cubanos en el Exilio” (UCE) (Union of Cubans in Exile). He died in 2003 in Los Teques, Venezuela. Since 2012 he is in process of Beatification.

Cutié, Father Albert

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Father Albert Cutié was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He serves as the Rector of St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Southeast Florida and Dean (Convener) of Broward County. Cutié has been in full-time parish ministry for over 24 years. Father Albert received his Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of the South (Sewanee, TN). Cutié became a member of the Episcopal Church in 2009, originally ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Church in 1995. In October of 1998, he became the first clergy person of any faith tradition to host a daily “talk-show” as part of a major network on international television. He produced hundreds of talk shows with the Telemundo Network (NBCUniversal/Comcast) and became one of the most recognized names in Spanish-language television. After three seasons and hundreds of episodes, he continued to host weekly talk-shows, on the international network EWTN and in South Florida. He also produced an English-language talk-show in New York City in 2011. Cutié served as the CEO and General Director of Pax Catholic Communications (a multi-media organization and the home of Radio Peace and Radio Paz in Miami) from 2001 until 2009.

Estevez, Bishop Felipe de Jesus

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Bishop Estévez was born February 5, 1946 in Havana, Cuba and arrived in the United States on a Pedro Pan flight as a teenager. He was ordained in 1970 and has done extensive studies in Spiritual Theology, earning a doctorate from Gregorian University in Rome. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

From 2001 to 2003, Bishop Estévez served as spiritual director of Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, where he had served as rector from 1980 to 1986. He was pastor of Saint Agatha Parish in Miami for 14 years, while also directing the Campus Ministry at Florida International University.

Appointed Auxiliary Bishop on November 21, 2003, and ordained January 7, 2004, he oversees the archdiocese’s Ministry of Pastoral Services including family life, youth, campus, prison and Respect Life ministries, as well as all the apostolic movements.

In 2010, under the leadership of Archbishop Thomas Wenski Bishop Estévez was appointed Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Miami.He remained in that position until assuming his new role as Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine on June 2, 2011.

Frade, Rt. Rev. Leo

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Episcopalian Bishop Leo Frade was born in Havana, Cuba, on October 10, 1943. He grew up in a staunchly Methodist home. As a teenager at a youth conference he felt a strong call to serve God, and was for a time a lay missionary in the Sierra Maestra Mountains where Castro’s revolution began.

In 1960 the church sent him to Asbury College, a Methodist-affiliated school in Kentucky. His civil rights activism cost him the scholarship at the end of his junior year, and he went to work in New York, where his family was then living. It was during this time that he found the Episcopal Church and claims that his “conversion” took place during an Easter Sunday service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

In 1969, the year that the Diocese of Southeast Florida was formed, he moved to Miami, where he continued his journey as a layman in the Episcopal Church. He worked as a General Sales Manager for an international cargo airline. In Miami he attended Biscayne College, today’s St. Thomas University. He was prepared for confirmation by Bishop Leo Alard, presented by Canon Max Salvador and confirmed by Bishop Ervine Swift. After a few years his vocation was renewed and he went to the School of Theology of the University of the South, Sewanee, TN where he received his Master of Divinity degree.

He was ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood in Miami by Bishop James Duncan. His first parish was Holy Cross in Miami. He also served churches in New Orleans, La., and Orlando, Fla.

He was consecrated Bishop of Honduras on January 25, 1984 and for almost 17 years he helped to grow the diocese, making it the fastest growing diocese in the Episcopal Church at the time. He was involved in social and justice issues as well as a strong commitment to evangelism.

He has served as a member of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, as well on various committees and commissions. He currently serves as a member of the Standing Commission on World Mission. He is now the senior bishop with jurisdiction of the House of Bishops.

He also serves as Chair of Our Little Roses Foreign Mission Society and as a member of the board of Food for the Poor. He has received honorary doctorates from General Theological Seminary, University of the South, the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and the Florida Center for Theological Studies in Miami.

Frade was elected Bishop of Southeast Florida on May 6, 2000, and enthroned on September 16, 2000. His commitment to evangelism and mission is challenging all in the diocese to double membership during the next decade. He is known as a powerful preacher and a gentle and caring pastor of his flock.

The bishop is married to the former Diana Dillenberger, founder and director of Our Little Roses, a home for abandoned, abused and orphaned girls in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The couple has four adult children and five grandchildren.

Isern, Bishop Fernando

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Most Reverend Fernando Isern, D.D., Bishop of Pueblo, was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1958. In 1963 his family went into exile in Venezuela and then in 1967 to Miami. He graduated from Florida International University in 1982, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration.

He also studied at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami and St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. He was ordained to the priesthood on April 16, 1993.

Bishop Isern served as a parochial vicar at St. Mark Church in Southwest Ranches, Florida, until 1996, when he was transferred to St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Pompano Beach. In 1999 he became an adjunct professor at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, and assistant chaplain for the Archdiocesan Youth Center as well as for Encuentros Juveniles.

He was also parochial vicar at St. Agnes Church in Key Biscayne (1999-2002). He served as parochial vicar (2002-003) and then as pastor (2003-2009) of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Miami. From 2008 to 2009, he was also President of Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School in Miami.

October 15, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fernando Isern the fourth Bishop of Pueblo, Colorado. He was ordained Bishop on December 10, 2009, by Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, D.D., Archbishop of Denver, assisted by Most Reverend John C. Favalora, D.D., Archbishop of Miami, and Most Reverend Arthur N. Tafoya, D.D., third Bishop of Pueblo.

Menendez, Father José Luis

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Father José Luis Menéndez was born in Havana. His family was well known because of their H. Upmann cigar enterprises. After the Castro revolution took control of Cuba, they left Cuba for Spain. José Luis education was received in that country. He decided to follow a religious vocation and after his graduation from seminary studies was ordained as a priest. His ordination took place in Madrid.

In 1980 he started a successful career as a priest in the Miami Archdiocese. After serving in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Miami he was assigned responsibilities as a priest at the Miami Shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre (Ermita de la Caridad) and also at the La Salle High School. From 1982 to 1988 he also served as director of Pastoral Ministries for the Archdiocese of Miami.

In 1988 Father became the pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Miami, developing ministries among all the different ethnic groups in the areas. He was able to start a mission with regular Sunday masses for the large Dominican population in Wynwood and surrounding areas. He has been one of the best-known Cuban clergymen in South Florida and among Hispanics in the United States.

He is the founder and director of Museo Colonial de la Florida (Florida Cultural Museum). Through his efforts visitors to Miami can also enjoy one of the largest collections of Peruvian colonial religious art to be found anywhere.

His ecumenical and Interfaith activities have been honored by all religious denominations. He has supported different activities in favor of the defense of human rights in his native country.

The government of Peru conferred upon him the Order of Merit (Orden del Mérito) and the King of Spain honored him with a prestigious medal, La Orden de Isabel la Católica. It is not possible to describe religious and cultural work in the Cuban and Hispanic communities without the outstanding work of Father José Luis Menéndez.

Ramos, Dr. Marcos Antonio

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Doctor Marcos Antonio Ramos Cuban-born historian and theologian born in Colón, Matanzas. He is a Protestant clergyman and served as Moderator of the Southern Baptist Churches in Miami Dade. Reverend Ramos is a Trustee of Baptist Health South Florida and a Senior Research Associate at the Cuban Studies Institute.

During his academic career he has taught at six universities and theological seminaries. He is the autor of 15 books including “Panorama del Protestantismo en Cuba” (Editorial
Caribe, San José, 1986), “Protestantism and Revolution in Cuba” (University of Miami, Coral Gables, 1989), “La Cuba de Castro y después” (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 2007) and textbooks and dictionaries for the study of World Religions and denominations. He has written numerous introductions and chapters of books on Cuba. One of the authors of UNESCO's General History of Latin America.

Regular Member of the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española and Corresponding Academic of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) and other national and foreign academies and professional societies. Among the honors received is the Papal Medal “Benemerenti” granted by Benedict XVI. He was awarded a National Journalism Award in the Dominican Republic.

He has researched extensively on Religion and Society in Contemporary Cuba and written numerous articles for newspapers in Latin America. For several years he was a regular columnist for “El Nuevo Herald”.

Roman, Bishop Agustin

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Agustín Aleido Román Rodríguez was the Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami and the Titular Bishop of Sertei. He was born in San Antonio de los Baños in May 1928.

He was expelled from Cuba on September 17, 1961, by the Communist regime along with another 130 priests and the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Havana, Eduardo Tomas Boza-Masvidal, on the Spanish ship Covadonga.

From 1962 to 1966, he was Spiritual Director and Professor at the Institute of Humanities in Temuco, Chile. From 1967 to 1973, he was the chaplain of Mercy Hospital in Miami, United States. On February 6, 1979, he was appointed by Pope John Paul II as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami; his Principal Consecrator was Miami’s Archbishop, Edward Anthony McCarthy. On March 24, 1979, he was consecrated Titular Bishop of Sertei. He was the first Cuban bishop in the United States.

Bishop Román was identified with the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami until the very end of his mortal life. His exhortations raised enough money to pay for the construction, which he oversaw. He remained active there, first as its Director, from 1967, and then as its Rector Emeritus, after retiring from active ministry in 2003. He was considered the principal spokesman for Catholic Cuban-American exiles.

He studied philosophy at the San Alberto Magno Seminary in Matanzas and then studied theology at the Seminary of the Fathers of Foreign Missions in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He received a Master’s in Religious Studies from Barry University and a Master’s in Human Resources from St. Thomas University.

He died in Miami, Florida on April 11, 2012.

Varela, Venerable Félix

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Félix Varela was born on November 20, 1788 in Habana, Cuba, then still part of New Spain, and grew up in St. Augustine, Florida. The grandson of Lieutenant Bartolomé Morales, the commander of military forces in Spanish Florida, who was stationed there and who helped to raise Felix after the death of his mother in childbirth. As a teenager, he refused his grandfather’s offer to send him to a military academy in Spain, returning to Cuba, where he studied to become a priest at San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary in Havana, the only seminary in Cuba.He also studied at the University of Havana. At the age of 23, he was ordained in the Cathedral of Havana for the Diocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana.

Joining the seminary faculty within a year of his ordination, he taught philosophy, physics, and chemistry. In his position there, he taught many illustrious Cubans, including José Antonio Saco, Domingo del Monte, José de la Luz y Caballero and Felipe Poey. José Martí’s teacher, Rafael María de Mendive, was also Varela’s student. During this period, Varela established a literary society and published Miscelánea filosófica, a popular book on philosophy, before he was 30 years old.

In 1821, Varela was chosen to represent Cuba in the Cortes Generales of Spain in Madrid, where he joined in a petition to the Crown for the independence of Latin America, and also published an essay which argued for the abolition of slavery in Cuba. For such ideas, after the French invasion of Spain in 1823 overthrew the liberal government of Spain and restored King Ferdinand VII who then brutally suppressed all opposition, he was sentenced to death by the government. Before he could be arrested, however, he fled, first to Gibraltar, then to the United States, where he spent the rest of his life, settling in New York City.

In New York, Varela founded El Habanero, the first Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, though it produced only seven issues. He published other newspapers in Spanish, including El Mensajero Semanal, and also in English The Protestant’s Abridger and Annotator. He published many articles about human rights, as well as multiple essays on religious tolerance, cooperation between the English and Spanish-speaking communities, and the importance of education.

After spending some months studying English, he served as an assistant at St. Peter’s Church on Barclay Street from 1825 to 1827.In 1827, Varela founded the Church of the Immigrant in the poor Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan. The area later became known as Chinatown and the congregation as the Church of the Transfiguration. It continues to serve a largely immigrant community, and it houses a memorial to Varela.

In 1837, Varela was named Vicar General of the Diocese of New York, which then covered all of New York State and the northern half of New Jersey. In this post, he played a major role in the way the American Church dealt with the tremendous influx of Irish refugees, which was just beginning at the time. His desire to assist those in need coupled with his gift for languages allowed him to master the Irish language in order to communicate more efficiently with many of the recent Irish arrivals.

Varela served as a theological consultant to the committee of American bishops which drew up the famous Baltimore Catechism, which began a standard teaching tool for Catholic children in the nation until the mid-20th century. He was later awarded a doctorate of Theology by St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1848, worn out by his labors, Varela developed severe asthma, which led him to retire to St. Augustine, dying there five years later. Nearly sixty years after his death, Varela’s body was dis-interred from Tolomato Cemetery and returned to Cuba to be laid to rest in the University of Havana’s Aula Magna.

His name is associated with a project proposed by the Christian Liberation Movement in Cuba, named Proyecto Varela, which was announced to the Cuban people on government-owned TV and radio stations in Cuba by United States President Jimmy Carter. In 1997 the United States Postal Service honored Varela by issuing a 32-cent commemorative stamp.

Currently, Varela is being considered for canonization as a Catholic saint, and was declared a Servant of God, recognizing his life as a devoted Catholic and a model for others in and out of the faith, and officially beginning the process.

On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012, both the Archdiocese of New York and the Archdiocese of Miami (each having significant Catholic Cuban-American populations) announced that the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints had declared Varela “Venerable”, meaning he lived a virtuous life within the Catholic faith to a heroic degree and as such is worthy of praise (veneration).

Now, for him to be beatified, the next stage of the process, since he is not a martyr, a miracle (officially deemed to be so from an impartial theological and scientific point of view) must be proved attributable to his direct intercession. Canonization would then follow if another such miracle is declared to have occurred after the first. If canonized, he would be the first Cuban-born person to be honored on the altars of the Catholic church.

On October 30, 2015, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, Archbishop of Havana, appointed Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia as Postulator in the Process for Father Varela’s Beatification and Canonization. Archbishop Paglia is also President of the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family, as well as Postulator for the Process of Canonization of Blessed Óscar Romero, the martyred Archbishop of San Salvador in El Salvador.