Miami, Fla., Jun 12, 2012 / 14:58 pm
The Archdiocese of Miami announced that Auxiliary Bishop Agustin Roman, who passed away April 11, left behind a donation of $60,000 for the Cuban Diocese of Matanzas.
"He always maintained a great love for Cuba and especially the Province of Matanzas," Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami said in a June 11 statement.
The late auxiliary bishop was expelled from Cuba in 1961 along with 132 other priests. After ministering in Chile for a number of years, Bishop Roman arrived in Miami in 1966, where he founded what later became the national shrine for Cuba's patroness, Our Lady of Charity.
For seven years he oversaw its construction, encouraging exiled Cubans to donate to the project. The shrine drew the affection of thousands of Latin Americans who live in south Florida.
Bishop Roman remained active at the shrine, even after retiring from serving as its rector in 2003.