Havana/Monsignor Silvano Herminio Pedroso Montalvo, bishop of Guantánamo-Baracoa and first black prelate of the Cuban Catholic Church, died during the early hours of this Saturday in Havana, at the age of 73, after several weeks in delicate condition due to an oncological disease.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba confirmed the death of the religious and announced that his funeral would take place this Saturday at the Santa Catalina de Siena parish, located on the corner of 25 and Paseo, in El Vedado, Havana. After the ceremony, the funeral procession will go to the Colón Cemetery, where his remains will be buried.
Pedroso had returned to Cuba on June 3 from Rome, where he remained for several months and underwent various medical studies. During his stay in the Italian capital he received care at the Agostino Gemelli hospital and in the infirmary of the Company of Jesus.
The Cuban Church had initially announced, in February, that the bishop suffered from severe gastritis, but subsequent examinations revealed the existence of an oncological disease. Last Thursday, two days before his death, the Episcopate reported that his state of health was “very delicate” and asked for prayers for his recovery.
Born in Cárdenas, Matanzas, on April 25, 1953, Pedroso came to the priesthood after an unusual career among members of the Cuban clergy. He studied Geography at the University of Havana and worked between 1979 and 1982 at the Institute of Physical Planning of Las Tunas.
Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Guantánamo-Baracoa on March 29, 2018
He did not enter the San Carlos y San Ambrosio Major Seminary until 1987, when he was 34 years old. He was ordained a priest on June 12, 1995 by Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino in the Havana Cathedral. From then on he carried out his pastoral work in several communities in Havana and Mayabeque. He was parish priest in Quivicán, Bejucal, Melena del Sur and Güines, as well as responsible for vocational ministry and director of the San Juan María Vianney Priestly House. Since 2013 he was in charge of the Nuestra Señora del Pilar parish, in the Havana municipality of Cerro.
His parishioners describe him as a direct contact priest, accustomed to walking through neighborhoods and entering family homes. After his episcopal appointment, was rated as a “street” priest, an expression that summarized his way of understanding the ministry and his preference for a Church close to ordinary people.
Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Guantánamo-Baracoa on March 29, 2018. His episcopal ordination took place on May 27 of that year in the Havana Cathedral and he took possession of the diocese on June 9, during a ceremony held in the Cathedral of Santa Catalina de Ricci, in Guantánamo.
His mission took place in one of the poorest and most isolated provinces of Cuba, with dispersed rural settlements, transportation difficulties and a shortage of priests.
He thus became the third head of a diocese created in 1998 by John Paul II and in the first black bishop of the history of the Catholic Church in Cuba, a country where the ecclesiastical hierarchy has traditionally had a racial representation that has little reflected the composition of society.
Upon receiving the appointment, Pedroso assured that he wanted to be close to the communities most in need and chose as his episcopal motto a phrase from the Gospel of Saint John, “Love one another as I have loved you.” His mission took place in one of the poorest and most isolated provinces of Cuba, with dispersed rural settlements, transportation difficulties, a shortage of priests and communities that suffer especially severely from the deterioration of public services, the lack of food and the energy crisis.
During his eight years at the head of the diocese, he maintained a discreet profile, away from public confrontations with the authorities, but focused on pastoral and social care. His figure gained relevance for supporting vulnerable families and for his visits to remote communities in Guantanamo territory.
The United States Embassy in Havana This Saturday he expressed his condolences to the Catholic Church and to those who mourn his death. In its message, the diplomatic headquarters stated that Pedroso dedicated his life “to the service of God and ordinary Cubans.”
With his death, the diocese of Guantánamo-Baracoa, located in the eastern end of the country, remains vacant.
“A humble and close pastor, he distinguished himself by accompanying those who suffered the most and by walking alongside their communities in times of difficulty,” said the Embassy, which also highlighted his “deep love for Cuba” and his dedication so that citizens could live “with dignity and hope.”
Pedroso’s last trip to Rome was related to the visit ad limina of the Cuban bishops, although the collective meeting had to be postponed due to the serious fuel shortage affecting the Island. The prelate managed, however, to meet with Pope Leo XIV on February 20. The Holy See did not reveal the details of that conversation. By then, his health was beginning to deteriorate and he had to remain in Italy to receive medical care.
With his death, the diocese of Guantánamo-Baracoa, located in the eastern end of the country, is left vacant. The Church must provisionally appoint a diocesan administrator until the Pontiff appoints his successor.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” the American Embassy wrote in saying goodbye to the bishop, citing Saint Paul’s second letter to Timothy.
