Agustín Román, Roman Catholic Bishop. (San Antonio de los Baños)
Agustín Alejo Román Rodríguez (San Antonio de los Baños, May 5, 1928–Miami, April 11, 2012) was the Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami and the Titular Bishop of the Titular See of Sertei.
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, Canada. He received a Master’s in Religious Studies from Barry University and a Master’s in Human Resources from St. Thomas University.
Priesthood.
He was ordained a priest on July 5, 1959, and assigned to the Diocese of Matanzas. He was assigned to the parishes of Coliseo-Lagunillas and Pedro Betancourt and Spiritual Director of Juventud Católica. 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. He was also assigned to the parish of Espíritu in Temuco. 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 ordained Titular Bishop of Sertei. He was the first Cuban to be consecrated Bishop in the United States.
On May 5, 2003, Bishop Román turned 75 and, as required under canon law, submitted his resignation as Auxiliary Bishop of Miami.
Bishop Román was identified with the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami until the very end of his mortal life.
Death.
It was at this shrine where, on April 11, 2012, he suffered a cardiac arrest. Transported to the neighboring Mercy Hospital, he died shortly before 8:45 p.m. at age 83, having lived 33 years as Bishop.
Agencies/Various/Wiki/InternetPhotos/thecubanhistory.com
The Cuban History, Hollywood.
Arnoldo Varona, Editor.