The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Cristobal de la Habana is one of three Catholic Archdioceses in Cuba.
The Catedral de la Virgen María de la Concepción Inmaculada de La Habana (Cathedral of The Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception) is a Roman Catholic Cathedral constructed by Jesuits (1748–77) on the site of an earlier church. It is also dedicated to Saint Christopher (San Cristóbal), thus it is sometimes dubbed as Cathedral of Saint Christopher.
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Cristobal de la Habana is one of three Catholic Archdioceses in Cuba.
The Catedral de la Virgen María de la Concepción Inmaculada de La Habana (Cathedral of The Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception) is a Roman Catholic Cathedral constructed by Jesuits (1748–77) on the site of an earlier church. It is also dedicated to Saint Christopher (San Cristóbal), thus it is sometimes dubbed as Cathedral of Saint Christopher.
Erected originally as Santiago de Cuba, this Latin Rite or Roman Rite diocese was erected as the Diocese of Santiago de Cuba on 10 September 1787 by Pope Pius VI. Set in the former Plaza de La Ciénaga or Swamp Plaza, the Cathedral is said to be the only example of a baroque facade that was designed with asymmetrical features – one of the towers is wider than the other. This particular feature was conceived in order to allow the water that tended to accumulate on the plaza to freely flow through the streets during the colonial period, when it was built.
Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier famously described the Cathedral as “music set in stone”. It is the most prominent building on the Plaza de la Catedral, in Old Havana.
The original diocese encompassed the provinces of Santa Clara, Matanzas, Havana, and Pinar del Río in Cuba and Florida and Louisiana in what is now The United States of America. On 25 April 1793 the diocese lost territory for what would be the first of four territorial losses when the diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas (Saint Louis of New Orleans) was erected. The diocese would again lose territory 20 February 1903 when the dioceses of Pinar del Río and Cienfuegos were erected, and then again on 10 December 1912 upon the erection of the diocese of Matanzas. Eventually the Diocese of Santiago de Cuba would be suppressed and elevated to the Metropolitan See of Sancti Christophori de Habana, San Cristobal de la Habana on 6 January 1925.
The current Cardinal-Archbishop of Havana is Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino since his elevation and election by Pope John Paul II on 21 November 1981. The Archdiocese currently has two auxiliary bishops to assist the cardinal, Bishop Juan de Dios Hernández-Ruiz, S.J. and Bishop Alfredo Petit-Vergel.
The Archdiocese encompasses 7,542 square kilometres (2,912 sq mi) and has two suffragan dioceses, Matanzas and Pinar del Río. According to a 2004 estimate there were a total of 3.9 million people living within the confines of the diocese, 71.8% or 2.8 million of whom were Roman Catholic. There were 49 diocesan priests and 62 religious priests, totaling 111 priests serving the faithful of the diocese. With these figures, there were approximately 25,225 Catholics per priest. There were 23 permanent deacons and 79 men-religious and 348 women-religious. In 2004, there were 102 established parishes.
Ordinaries of San Cristobal de la Habana
Felipe José de Tres-Palacios y Verdeja † (30 March 1789 Appointed – 16 September 1799 Died)
Juan José Díaz de Espada y Fernánez de Landa † (11 August 1800 Appointed – 12 August 1832 Died)
Francisco Fleix Soláus † (14 Jan 1846 Appointed – 22 September 1864 Appointed, Archbishop of Tarragona)
Jacinto Maria Martínez y Sáez, O.F.M. Cap. † (27 March 1865 Appointed – 31 October 1873 Died)
Apolinar Serrano y Díaz † (23 September 1875 Appointed – 15 June 1876 Died)
Ramón Fernández Piérola y Lopez de Luzuriaca † (4 September 1879 Appointed – 17 March 1887 Appointed, bishop of Ávila)
Manuel Santander y Frutos † (17 March 1887 Appointed – 24 November 1899 Resigned)
Donato Sbarretti † (9 January 1900 Appointed – 16 September 1901 Appointed, Titular Archbishop of Gortyna)
Pedro Ladislao González y Estrada † (16 September 1903 Appointed – 3 January 1925 Resigned)
José Manuel Dámaso Rúiz y Rodríguez † (30 March 1925 Appointed – 3 January 1940 Died)
Manuel Arteaga y Betancourt † (28 December 1941 Appointed – 20 March 1963 Died)
Evelio Diaz-Cia † (21 March 1963 Succeeded – 26 January 1970 Resigned)
Francisco Ricardo Oves-Fernandez † (26 January 1970 Appointed – 28 March 1981 Resigned)
Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino (21 November 1981 Appointed – present)
Sources: Wiki/Cuba’sChurch/InternetPhotos/TheCubanHistory.com
Habana’s Roman Catholic Catedral/The Cuban History/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor