Bishop Agustin Roman immortalized in bronze

By Rocio Granados - La Voz Catolica

MIAMI | In honor of the spiritual leader and pastor of the exiled Cuban community, Bishop Agustin Roman, a sculpture was unveiled in his honor in the gardens of Our Lady of Charity National Shrine, also known as “La Ermita,” on Sept. 5.

The bronze statue, which weighs approximately 350 pounds and stands about the same height as Bishop Roman, depicts him with a rosary in hand, praying before the ocean and looking towards Cuba, as he always did.

“Bishop Roman was the Felix Varela of our time. Felix Varela taught Cubans how think; Bishop Roman taught them how to pray. That is why, I believe, it is important to see the rosary in his hand, so that we also will remember that prayer means to lift up our hearts towards the Lord, from whom our help will come,” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski during the unveiling ceremony and blessing of the statue.

City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado was also present, as well as Bishop Roman’s family — his sister, his sister-in-law and his nephews — along with hundreds of faithful, the Knights of Columbus and members of the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Charity.

After the blessing, Bishop Roman’s sister, Iraida Roman, placed a bouquet of flowers at the feet of the statue.

The statue was placed at floor level and not on a pedestal “so that all persons can look into his eyes, face to face, just like when he was here with us,” said Father Juan Rumin Dominguez, rector of the shrine.

After Bishop Roman’s death, many people told Father Dominguez how they remembered seeing the bishop always in prayer, facing the waters of Biscayne Bay.

The statue is part of a tribute to the Cuban bishop on the three-year anniversary of his death, a way for Cuban exiles to immortalize his faith and his hope. Along with the statue comes a book, “Pastor, Profeta, Patriarca” (Pastor, Prophet, Patriarch), the authorized biography of Bishop Roman written by journalist Daniel Shoer Roth and presented at the Freedom Tower Aug. 22.

“A man with his heart in heaven, but his feet well planted on the ground. I think it will be a very beautiful legacy for the future generations who visit this place, so that they can remember a man of God and a man of his people,” Father Dominguez said.

The statue is a true replica of Bishop Roman in his last days.

“It took us around four months to accomplish, to model it from scratch in clay and later to bronze,” said Reynold Stewart of R.U.N Art Foundry, one of the sculptors who worked on the statue.

“Almost all of the work involved studying photos and videos of him. Father Rumin wanted a specific pose (walking and praying). It was a challenge. He gave us a really good photo taken from the back, but we really had to investigate. When his sister and other people who knew him came and gave the OK, that it looked like him, we stated the smelting process,” said Uldis Lopez, founder of R.U.N. Art.

The most difficult part of the job was “sculpting him. Everything else we know how to do; to fuse and polish, to add the colors,” said Lopez.

Watching videos that captured the way he talked, how he expressed himself, “brought us very close, even though we never knew him,” Lopez added.

“The sculpture, for me, is just like him, it could not be more exact. I liked it very much,” said the bishop’s sister, Iraida Roman. “I am immensely happy because he is here, he has not left,” she added.

“He was one of the first priests I met in exile, since 1963, when I arrived, and I thank God for having met him: a man of God, with incredible humility and surrender. Everything that is here was done by him, and not only the material part; he was a true spiritual guide for all of us in exile,” said Bertila Poso, a parishioner at St. Agnes in Key Biscayne.

“He deserves not only this statue, but all of the homages that can be given to him, because of his commitment to God and his love for Cuba, and his charity toward everyone that came here, whether they were Catholic or not, to him it did not matter. His arms were open to all and he received all without any distinction. He was a very beautiful reflection of what God’s true love is,” Poso added.

“We loved him very much. He was from our province in Cuba, from Matanzas,” said Nelida Canino, a parishioner at Immaculate Conception in Hialeah. On various occasions she attended his Masses, especially when family members arrived from Cuba.

On one occasion, after Bishop Roman finished praying the rosary, “he told us, now ask for a miracle from the Virgin,” Canino recalled. “My brother and I asked for my mother, who came in a wheelchair, to find relief: As we exited, she never again sat in a wheelchair. The miracle took place that day.”

Bishop Roman was ever-present at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity. Shortly after his arrival in Miami in 1967, he was put in charge of the project to build the shrine. He continued as rector even after he was named auxiliary bishop of Miami in 1979. Aside from his obligations as bishop, he never left, and after he retired he was always available to the people who arrived at “La Ermita.”

“This was Bishop Roman’s habitat; this was his life, his work, his mission; all day he was tending to the pilgrims, walking all over the shrine grounds, and the people who came with anguish and problems, he tended to all of them,” said Father Dominguez.  

“I still believe that at any moment he will appear in a corner of La Ermita,” said Rogelio Zelada, associate director of the Office of Lay Ministry. He met Bishop Roman in 1987, when the bishop asked him to restore the image of Our Lady of Charity. Since then, he has been responsible for its care.

To have a statue of Bishop Roman “makes me emotional because he was our spiritual father, our friend, our grandfather,” said Fernando Gomez, president of the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Charity, which was founded by Bishop Roman. “We knew him for many years and to have him now immortalized in a statue means a lot to me and my family.”

“I feel extremely proud and honored that we will have him present here as he always was: a simple, humble man; a man of his people,” Gomez added.

The creation and erection of the statue, like the building of the shrine itself, was made possible by the donations of the faithful.