Top: Commissioner Joe Sanchez, Mayor Manny Diaz, Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, Commissioner Tomas Regalado and Bishop Agustin Roman prepare to unveil the new street sign for South Miami Avenue. Bottom: Commissioner Joe Sanchez, Mayor Manny Diaz, Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, and Commissioner Tomas Regalado present Bishop Agustin Roman with a replication of the street sign that has been placed at South Miami Avenue in his honor. Photos: Jorge R. Perez/City of Miami.

Miami-Dade County, FL – Miami-Dade County Commissioner Carlos A. Gimenez and City of Miami Commissioner Joe Sanchez, joined by Mayor Manny Diaz and Commissioner Tomas Regalado, honored the life of Bishop Agustín A. Román in a street co-designation ceremony on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, in La Salle High School’s gymnasium. A portion of South Miami Avenue from Alatka Street to U.S. 1 will be named "Most Reverend Agustín A. Román Way."

In 1979, the Most Reverend Agustín Román was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami, making him the first Cuban in 200 years to be appointed bishop in the nation. He was born in 1928 in Havana, Cuba and was later expelled under Fidel Castro’s regime. Bishop Román and 132 other Cuban priests left the island aboard the Spanish ship “Covadonga” in 1961.

He then ministered in Chile for four years before coming to Miami in 1966. Bishop Román looked to fellow exiles to donate “kilos prietos” (tarnished pennies), and over a seven-year period collected enough to pay for the construction of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity on Biscayne Bay. Dedicated to Cuba's patroness, it has become a beacon for exiles from many nations, luring thousands of worshippers each year. Bishop Román remains director of the Shrine, greeting visitors, responding to letters from fellow Cuban exiles, and answering the phone.

Bishop Román also won the distinction of becoming ABC News’ “Person of the Week” in 1986, when he mediated between Cuban detainees and federal agents in Atlanta and Oakdale, Louisiana. The prisoners, who protested their indefinite incarceration and probable deportation back to Cuba, called on Bishop Román for help. The bishop had been in contact with many of the prisoners and their families since their arrival on the 1980 Mariel boatlift. He was lauded for his role in ending the crisis without loss of blood, and was called “a man of compassion, gentility and commitment... a man with a strong personality and humble spirit” by ABC. 

As part of the Archdiocese, Bishop Román served as Vicar General, Consultor, member of the Archbishop's Executive Council, as well as Vicar for Hispanics from 1976 to 2003. From 1979 to 1997, he was also Executive Director of the Ministry of Pastoral Service, which includes: Hispanic movements; ministry to Haitians, blacks and other cultural groups; ministry to families, youth, young adults, the sick, the handicapped, farmworkers, prisoners, and Respect Life. Later, he became director of the Ministry of Persons, which includes priests, religious, and laity from 1997 to 2003. 

For more information in the event, please contact Commissioner Gimenez’s office at 305-669-4003.