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Jan 05, 2012 | Carol E. Barnwell

New Bishop of Cuba to Preach at 163rd Council

Delgado 2
Bishop Delgado
Photo by Ali Symons / General Synod Communications

Pending final visa approval from the Cuban government, the Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado Del Carpio, Bishop of Cuba, will attend the Diocese of Texas’ 163rd Annual Council in Bryan/College Station, February 10, 2012.

 

“We are delighted that Bishop Delgado was able to accept our invitation,” said Bishop C. Andrew Doyle, noting that, while her visa was approved, she was still waiting on permission for her husband to travel with her. “I look forward to hearing more about the Church in Cuba and how we might share in ministry with them and I know that everyone will welcome Bishop Delgado and her husband with our usual Texas hospitality,” he added.

 

Bishop Delgado, 55, was born in Bolivia and was formerly rector of Santa Maria Virgen in Itabo, Cuba. She was appointed bishop coadjutor by the Metropolitan council, which oversees the Diocese in Cuba and she served with Interim Bishop Miguel Tamayo (Anglican Church of Uruguay) until his retirement last fall. Bishop Delgado was installed as diocesan bishop on November 28, 2010 at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Havana, becoming the first woman to serve in that role.


She is known for her deep love of the Church in Cuba, for her insight into the history of the church’s witness in Cuban society, and for her focus on stewardship of financial resources and strategic planning.

 

The Episcopal Church of Cuba traces its origins to the foundation of an Anglican presence on the island in 1901 and currently has 22 priests, nine parishes, 28 churches and 43 missions.


The diocese is an extra-provincial diocese in the Anglican Communion, under the ecclesiastical authority of a Metropolitan Council, composed of the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, who chairs it, by the Primate of the Province of the West Indies, and by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA. The Council has overseen the church in Cuba since it separated from the Episcopal Church in 1967.
The Church in Cuba has companion relationships with dioceses in Florida, Niagara (Canada) and Uruguay in addition to various parishes throughout the United States.
"We believe she [Delgado] will serve the diocese with a deep love," Hiltz said during her installation.  He said she had "a theology of hope grounded in the context of the church local."

 

"She speaks of the rebuilding of temples throughout Cuba -- the restoration of churches and the growing of congregations through worship and service, through reading biblical texts, celebrating the Eucharist, sharing in prayer for the community and for the world, and then sharing food, providing clothing and distributing medicines as any and all have need," he said. "Here, dear friends, is an expression of the gospel in all its fullness."