From the Pastor’s Desk
As we celebrate our annual Cathedral Gala Sunday evening – “A Hot Night in Havana” – our planning team purposely chose this theme as a way of honoring our present bishop, Felipe Estévez, who is a native of Havana. He has completed five years now as Bishop of St. Augustine and, along with all the faithful of the Diocese of St. Augustine, we have been touched deeply by his warmth and love of God.
Did you know, though, that our parish has had a long historic connection with Cuba? After the founding of our city in 1565, St. Augustine was eventually placed under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Santiago de Cuba. The first episcopal visitation came in March 1606 with the arrival of Bishop Juan de las Cabezas Altamirano. The next bishop to arrive was Gabriel Díaz Vara Calderón in 1674 who ordained seven men as priests – the first ordinations to take place in what is now the United States. In 1709, St. Augustine would have its first resident bishop who served as Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago de Cuba, Dioniso Resino.
Cuba would also play an important role in harboring the refugees who left St. Augustine following the First Treaty of Paris in 1763 that ended the Seven Years’ War and Florida became an English colony. Taking everything they could, including most of the sacred vessels and vestments from the parish church, the Spanish headed for Cuba as well as the parish records. Twenty years later, many returned to reestablish their lives in St. Augustine. But it wasn’t until the establishment of the Diocese of St. Augustine in 1870 that the parish records were returned when Bishop Agustin Verot appealed for them.
The ties between the parish in St. Augustine and the Church is Cuba are varied and of great interest. It is an honor to be able to acknowledge those ties with the celebration of our Cathedral Gala tonight!
Love,
Father Tom