The Bishop of Guantánamo-Baracoa is in very serious condition following a diagnosis of an oncological illness

The Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops (COCC) reported this Thursday that Monsignor Silvano Pedroso Montalvo, bishop of the diocese of Guantánamo-Baracoa, is in a "very delicate" health condition after being diagnosed with an oncological illness while in Rome.

According to the official information note from the COCC Secretariat, the prelate arrived in Havana on June 3 coming from the Italian capital, where he underwent medical tests that "revealed the presence of an oncological illness."

In Rome, Pedroso Montalvo was treated at Hospital Gemelli —a reference center that has attended to several popes— and in the infirmary of the Society of Jesus.

Upon his return to Cuba, the bishop initially stayed with the Compassionist Sisters in Havana and was later moved to the infirmary of the Daughters of Charity, adjacent to the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, to remain under strict medical supervision.

The COCC emphasized the seriousness of his condition: "At this moment, his health status is very delicate and visits exhaust him."

The episcopal body urged the faithful to keep the bishop in their prayers: "May God's grace support and strengthen him."

The illness has a direct precedent in February of this year, when Pedroso Montalvo traveled to Rome for the ad limina visit of the Cuban bishops with Pope Leo XIV, a mandatory periodic audience in which the bishops present the pastoral report of their dioceses.

He was the only Cuban bishop who managed to travel to Rome, as the severe fuel crisis prevented the rest of the delegation from making the trip.

After meeting with the Pope on February 20, the COCC reported on the 23rd of that month that the bishop remained in Rome suffering from severe gastritis and awaiting diagnostic tests.

These studies led to the now-confirmed oncological diagnosis.

Monseñor Pedroso Montalvo, born in Cárdenas on April 25, 1953, is the first Afro-descendant bishop in Cuba, appointed by Pope Francis in March 2018 and leading the diocese of Guantánamo-Baracoa since June 9 of that year.

The note was also shared by the Diocese of Cienfuegos on its social media, which broadened its reach among Cuban faithful both on the island and abroad.