Funeral Mass For Retired Auxiliary Bishop Agustin Román

The bishop suffered from cardiac arrest Wednesday at the age of 83.

The funeral Mass for retired Auxiliary Bishop Agustin Román, a man who was considered the spiritual leader of the exiled Catholic Cuban community in South Florida, was held Saturday at the Cathedral of St. Mary.

The funeral began at 12 p.m. at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity at 3609 South Miami Ave. A procession with his body ended at the cathedral at 7525 NW 2 Ave.

The Archdiocese of Miami also held a moment of silence and played the Cuban National Anthem at Martes de Playa Giron on SW 8th Street and 13th Avenue.

After the procession, Archbishop Thomas Wenski held a funeral Mass at the cathedral where he spoke highly of the retired auxiliary bishop. Wenski said Román was a friend of the poor, the prisoners and all others. He also compared him to Father Felix Varela, a Cuban priest on the path to sainthood.

Guests outside of the cathedral told NBC 6 how Román touched their lives.

Román was buried at 3 p.m. at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery at 11411 NW 25 St.

Román
, who was 83, suffered from cardiac arrest Wednesday and was transported to Mercy Hospital, according to the Archdiocese of Miami.

“The Archdiocese of Miami has lost a great evangelizer who tirelessly preached the Gospel to all. And the Cuban nation has lost a great patriot. Bishop Román was the Felix Varela of our time," said Wenski in a statement.

The archdiocese said that when Román was appointed auxiliary bishop in 1979, he was the first Cuban to be appointed to that role in the U.S.

He left Havana in 1961after being expelled by Fidel Castro's regime, ministered in Chile for four years before finally coming to Miami in 1966.

A public viewing for Román was held Thursday night.

Contact Us