Related videos:
Monsignor Enrique Aurelio García Rodríguez, a priest of the Diocese of Santa Clara who dedicated most of his ministry to the community of Sancti Spíritus, passed away this Friday at the Bishopric of Santa Clara at the age of 91, due to a cardiorespiratory arrest.
The news was officially announced by the Diocese of Santa Clara on its social media, with a message expressing the institution's sorrow: "With deep regret, we announce the passing of Monsignor Enrique Aurelio García Rodríguez, who returned to the House of the Father at 6:50 p.m. on this July 10, 2026, at the Diocese of Santa Clara, at the age of 91, due to a cardiorespiratory arrest."
Born on March 14, 1935 in Sancti Spíritus, Father Enrique had a remarkable life journey before embracing the priesthood.
In his youth, he felt called to join the Brothers of La Salle, a religious congregation dedicated to Christian education that arrived in Cuba in 1905 and was expelled in 1961 by Fidel Castro's regime, which seized their schools and prohibited religious teaching.
However, Father Enrique's path took a different direction: he studied Accounting and worked for 30 years as a Financial Accountant at the National Bank of Cuba, before dedicating himself to the priestly ministry in a late but profound vocation.
The Diocese of Santa Clara highlighted that “his great pastime was always reading, a habit he cultivated diligently, which granted him a solid and admired culture that he knew how to convey in his pastoral work.”
He was also remembered as "a great lover and passionate connoisseur of his hometown, Sancti Spíritus," a city to which he dedicated most of his ministry within the Vicarage bearing that name, part of the Diocese of Santa Clara.
After his passing, the body of the priest was moved to the Parish of Our Lady of Charity of Sancti Spíritus, one of the most historic temples in Cuba, built between 1717 and 1727 and regarded as the second one erected in honor of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, the patroness of the island.
The parish priest of that temple, Father Yoan Ernesto Bonet Espino, announced that the parish would open its doors at 6:00 AM the following day to welcome the faithful, with the funeral mass scheduled for 10:00 AM and the burial to follow.
In his statement, Bonet Espino called upon the community with these words: "Let us commend Fr. Enrique in prayer so that the Lord may grant him eternal rest and the reward of the righteous."
The news generated a wide response of condolences among the faithful from Sancti Spíritus and the Cuban Catholic community in general, who mourned the loss of a beloved priest known for his warmth, culture, and love for the land of his birth.
The passing of Monsignor García Rodríguez adds to a series of significant losses for the Catholic Church in Cuba in recent months. Last June, Monsignor Silvano Pedroso Montalvo, the first Afrodescendant bishop of Cuba, passed away at the age of 73; in April, Bishop Jorge Enrique Serpa Pérez died at the age of 84; and in December 2025, both Priest José Necuze Necuze from Holguín and Monsignor Héctor Luis Peña Gómez, the first bishop of Holguín, passed away at the age of 96.
The Diocese of Santa Clara concluded its statement with a quote from the Gospel of Matthew that encapsulates the spirit with which it bid farewell to Father Enrique: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21).
Filed under: