Monsignor Silvano Pedroso, Cuba's first Afro-Cuban bishop, passes away at 73

June 19, 2026

Monsignor Silvano Herminio Pedroso Montalvo, Bishop of the Diocese of Guantánamo-Baracoa and the first Afro-Cuban bishop in more than five centuries of the Catholic Church's history in Cuba, died in the early hours of Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Havana, at the age of 73, from cancer.

The Cuban Catholic Bishops' Conference confirmed the death of the prelate, who had arrived in Havana from Rome on June 3, where he had undergone medical studies that revealed the presence of cancer. He was treated at Gemelli Hospital and at the infirmary of the Society of Jesus. Back in Havana, he was first cared for by the Compassionist sisters and later transferred to the infirmary of the Daughters of Charity, near the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital.

His funeral took place at the Santa Catalina de Siena parish in Havana, after which he was buried at the Colón Cemetery in the Cuban capital.

Born on April 25, 1953, in Cárdenas, Matanzas province, Pedroso Montalvo earned a degree in Geography from the University of Havana and worked as a geographer from 1979 to 1982 before entering the seminary in 1987. He was ordained a priest on June 12, 1995, by Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino.

On March 29, 2018, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Guantánamo-Baracoa, making him the first Black bishop in more than five centuries of Cuba's Catholic Church. He took possession of his diocese on June 9, 2018, and chose as his episcopal motto "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34).

The Cuban Catholic Bishops' Conference highlighted that Mons. Pedroso "lived his condition as shepherd of God's people without making noise, but with silent dedication and sacrifice, first as a priest and then as a bishop." His diocese, located in the easternmost part of Cuba, was predominantly rural, with "little clergy and a strong presence of evangelical churches. Nevertheless, he never complained; he loved his diocese and offered his own life for it."