Holy Havana! Cubas places of worship in pictures | Art and design

 Posted on February 20, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1267 words  |  Martina Birk

Holy Havana! Cuba’s places of worship – in pictures

From majestic churches to Yoruba shrines, Simon Roberts’s new book captures the Cuban capital’s rich and diverse religious history

Main image: Holy grail … Our Lady of Mercy Church (1867), Havana, Cuba, 2019.
Photograph: Simon Roberts

Fri 18 Nov 2022 02.00 EST Last modified on Wed 30 Nov 2022 06.47 EST

  • Church of Our Lady of Regla (1818), Havana, 2019

    This series of landscape studies of places of worship form a visual timeline of Cuban religious history. Shot on a large-format camera, the highly detailed yet intimate photographs reveal a surprising range of architectural forms. The subtle attention to colour, light and scale, combined with the emptiness of each setting, imbues each scene with a metaphysical quality. Cathedrals Are Made in the Future is published by Another Place Press and available for pre-order now. All photographs: Simon Roberts/courtesy Flowers Gallery

  • The Church of San Agustín or San Francisco el Nuevo (1663), Havana, 2019

    This is one of the largest and most majestic religious buildings in Havana, constructed between 1608 and 1663. The style of the church is Renaissance with influences of Mexican temples of the time. For almost 200 years it was under the invocation of the hermit religious order of Saint Augustine before becoming the property of the Franciscan friars in 1844

  • Yoruba Cultural Association of Cuba (1992), Havana, 2020

    Also significant are Afro-Cuban religions that have resulted from transculturation, where the practices of African religions such as Yoruba have fused with those of Spanish Catholicism. There are no official churches or temples in the Yoruba religion. Ceremonies are usually performed at home or in public and because Santería lacks scriptures, the whole faith is passed down orally. The cultural association opened in 1992 as a way to share aspects of the African culture of Yoruba

  • Yoruba shrine in the home of a Babalawo, Havana, 2020

    Hidden within the mysterious Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria there is a body of secrets and rituals called Ifa, practised by priests whose title, Babalawo, means Father of the Secrets. Babalawos often provide health care to the community by using plant, animal and mineral substances, and other methods based on socio-cultural and religious practices

  • María Auxiliadora Church (1702), Havana, 2020

    The María Auxiliadora Catholic church was built in 1702, 200 years after Cuba was first discovered by Christopher Columbus and Catholicism quickly established in the country. With the onset of communism after the revolution in 1959, Fidel Castro effectively banned Catholic celebrations, including Christmas. Priests and other religious leaders were jailed or exiled and schools stopped teaching religious education. This led to thousands of Cubans leaving the island and starting up new communities in America and Europe

  • Shrine in a house on Lealtad Street, Havana, 2019

    Santería and spiritual practices such as Espiritismo (Spiritism) overwhelmingly mark Cuba’s religious landscape and refer to religious beliefs that originated when the Yoruba were brought from Africa to colonial Cuba as slaves and forced to adopt Catholicism. The resulting syncretism means a mixture of Catholic and Yoruba religions can be seen in many Cubans’ houses with the combined worship of African deities and Catholic saints

  • Museum of the Orishas, Havana, 2020

    The birthday celebration of Yoruba god Ebbo. Created by, and housed in the headquarters of, the Asociación Cultural Yoruba de Cuba, this museum is dedicated to Santería and features sculptures representing the different Afro-Cuban orishas (saint-gods). It is the first of its kind in the world

  • Church of the Holy Spirit (1638), Havana, 2019

    Cuba’s religious history begins with the dissemination of Spanish colonisation in the 15th century and the arrival of Catholicism which produced an intermingling of Christian and indigenous beliefs. The Church of the Holy Spirit was built in 1638 by a fraternity of Afro-Cuban ex-slaves and is considered to be Havana’s earliest Christian church, and also the only church in Havana to have given political asylum. The facade of the church includes a mixture of architectural styles, from Arabic to neoclassical

  • Havana Bahá’í Centre (1942), Cuba, 2019

    In 1939, a Bahá’í couple of Italo-American origin, Phillip and Laylí Marangella, settled in Cuba with the purpose of sharing Bahá’í teachings. Soon after, they established the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Havana. Gradually, the Bahá’í faith was established across the country and can now be found in provinces such as Camagüey, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Pinar del Río

  • Abdallah Mosque (2015), Havana, Cuba, 2019

    Inaugurated on 17 June 2015, this mosque, located in the heart of Old Havana, is the first and only one in Havana. The Turkish government funded the construction after several unmet promises from the Cuban government that a dedicated mosque would be built. According to a recent Pew Research Centre report, there are only 10,000 Muslims in Cuba and the vast majority are converts, thought to have come into contact with Islam through interaction with Pakistani students studying in the country

  • Beth Shalom Grand Synagogue (1952), Havana, Cuba, 2019

    The 20th century witnessed an inflow of European Jews fleeing persecution in their homelands. Beth Shalom, built in 1952, is located in the Vedado neighbourhood of downtown Havana. In 1981, much of the original building was sold to the Cuban state, and turned into the Bertolt Brecht Cultural Centre, which included a theatre, music venue and a bar. Only part of the structure remains in Jewish hands today, but it is still considered the headquarters of the Cuban Jewish Community

  • St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (2004), Havana, 2019

    In 2004, Cuba built its first church in 43 years, the St Nikolaos Greek Orthodox Church in Old Havana. It serves Havana’s estimated 8,000 Orthodox Christians, around 50 of whom are Greek. Cuba’s first Greek Orthodox church, Saints Constantine and Helen, was built in 1950 but was never used for church services and operated instead as the home of a children’s theatre company

  • Santería offerings to the oricha in the Gran Parque, Havana, 2019

    The roots of Santería stem from Nigeria and were transported to Cuba by way of the Lucumí people. Slaves from west Africa were transported in the 17th century, and they brought their religious tradition with them. For many years the practice of this religion, like others of African origin, was persecuted by the island’s authorities. Its rites and ceremonies took place deep in the woods

  • Divine Love Missionary Community Church, Havana, 2020

    In recent years the number of practising Christians has been growing in Cuba and most now attend church without fear of retribution. There is a rapid spread of evangelical denominations across the island with Baptist, Methodist and Pentecostal churches – such as the Divine Love Missionary Community - increasing their congregations alongside hundreds of tiny churches that have popped up in Cuban living rooms

  • Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral (2008), Havana, 2019

    The idea to build Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral in Havana belonged to the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who, according to his memoirs, offered to build it as a monument to Russian-Cuban friendship. It was consecrated by the Patriarch of Moscow in 2008
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