Services held for bishop Roman

Services were held Saturday for Agustin Roman, the first Cuban to be appointed bishop in the United States.

The Archdiocese of Miami announced that Roman went into cardiac arrest and died April 11. He was 83.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski called Roman a “great patriot” to the Cuban nation. Roman and 132 other priests were expelled from Cuba in 1961. He arrived in Miami in 1966 and almost immediately became involved with the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity.

He retired as auxiliary bishop of Miami when he turned 75 on May 5, 2003, as required under canon law, but remained active at the shrine, where he was often found greeting visitors and responding to letters from fellow Cuban exiles.

Wenski celebrated a funeral Mass for Roman on Saturday at the Cathedral of St. Mary.