San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary is a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Building

As a training center where prestigious Cuban intellectuals were educated before the foundation of the University of Havana, it was one of the most important buildings during the colonial period. The center courtyard is the only one of its kind in Cuba: it has galleries on three levels, the first with simple columns, the second with double columns, and the third with plain wooden piers. It still operates as a seminary. The old porch, the courtyard and the main stairway, one of the most splendid of colonial times, stand out preserved among Havana’s religious architecture. The original baroque porch has sculptures, pilasters and chamfered angles. However, only the front was redesign to face the bay in 1950. The current entrance was designed following the Cathedrals baroque motifs.

History

This architectural work has its origin in the modest San Ambrosio School, which in 1689 was established by the Bishop of Havana, Diego Evelio de Compostela, in a house next to his on Compostela street (named after this bishop). so that poor men with a religious vocation could study there. The old building, home to the Conciliar Seminary of San Carlos and San Ambrosio, began to be built in the year 1700 by members of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, and was completed in 1767, before the Jesuits were expelled from the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

. However, the building did not reach its current shape until Bishop Juan José Díaz de Espada added constructive forms that rivaled the gates of the University of Valladolid. During this period, the seminary achieved such scientific renown that not even the Royal and Pontifical University of San Gerónimo de la Habana could shadow it. The building would later become, for a few years, the seat of the Archbishopric of Havana under the cardinal figure of the Archbishop of Havana

Manuel Arteaga Manuel Alejandro Arteaga Rubianes (born 17 June 1994) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Phoenix Rising FC in the USL Championship. Club career Zulia Arteaga began his career with Zulia FC. where he made h ...

to, later, return to being the Conciliar Seminary of San Carlos and San Ambrosio, currently it is a office center of the catholic church.

Illustrious Students

During these years of the Bishop of Espada, the eminent priest Félix Varela y Morales studied at the Seminary, who was one of the first to perceive and teach to see Cuba as a nation, and representative of the Island of Cuba in the General Courts of Spain in 1821, where he advocated for the just causes of Cuba and demanded freedom for the slaves. The Cuban José Antonio Saco, sociologist, historian and economist, who stood out for his strong opposition to slavery and against the annexation of Cuba to the United States, also studied at this eminent Conciliar Seminary.

Notable students and professors

Félix Varela Félix Varela y Morales (November 20, 1788 – February 18, 1853) was a Cuban Catholic priest and independence leader who is regarded as a notable figure in the Catholic Church in both his native Cuba and the United States, where he also served. ...

Eduardo Boza-Masvidal Eduardo Tomas Boza-Masvidal (September 18, 1915 in Camagüey, Cuba – March 16, 2003 in Los Teques, Venezuela) was the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Havana. Biography His parents were Aurelio Boza and Clemencia Masvidal. He was baptis ...

Braulio Orue-Vivanco Braulio Orue-Vivanco (March 6, 1843 in Havana, Cuba – October 21, 1904 in Pinar del Río, Cuba) was the first Bishop of the Diocese of Pinar del Río. His parents were Joaquin Orue-de las Casas and Josefa Vivanco. He studied at the Royal Schoo ...

* Alfredo Llaguno-Canals *

Alfredo Petit-Vergel Alfredo Víctor Petit-Vergel (24 July 1936 – 7 August 2021) was a Cuban Roman Catholic prelate, who served as the Titular Bishop of Buslacena and the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Havana. He started his studies at El Buen Pastor Se ...

Evelio Díaz-Cía Evelio Diaz-Cia (February 17, 1902 in San Cristóbal, Cuba, San Cristóbal, Pinar del Río, Cuba – July 21, 1984 in Havana, Cuba) was the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Havana. His parents were Arturo Díaz-Díaz and Francisca Cía-Lópe ...

Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino (18 October 1936 – 26 July 2019) was a Cuban prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Havana from 1981 to 2016. He was appointed to the College of Cardinals in 1994, the second Cuban to hold tha ...

* Jorge Enrique Serpa Pérez

References

External links

La Habana: guía de arquitectura
Roman Catholic churches in Havana Catholic seminaries Spanish Colonial architecture in Cuba 1689 establishments in North America 1689 establishments in the Spanish Empire Buildings and structures in Havana 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Cuba es:Seminario de San Carlos y San Ambrosio {{Cuba-church-stub