The Piarist Order of the Catholic Church in Cuba is urging the communist Castro government to promptly return the historic 18th-century cloister and school, which were seized by the ruling regime and are now deteriorating rapidly, before it’s too late.
Guanabacoa, a district in eastern Havana, is home to centuries-old cloisters and schools that hold significant importance in Cuba’s cultural heritage, forming part of the Guanabacoa Historic Center. In 1857, the first teacher training institution in Latin America was founded there. These structures were under the Piarist Order’s ownership until the Castro regime requisitioned them in 1961 during the early phase of Fidel Castro’s long campaign against Cuba’s Catholic Church. The building, now mostly in ruins, was designated a national monument of Cuba in 1990.
Since last year, reports indicate that the regime has abandoned the historic monument, leaving it without any state protection. The monastery suffered damage in March due to a fire of unknown origin. A few weeks later, there was a second fire near St. Jude and St. Nicholas Church, sparked by people burning uncollected trash nearby.
On Sunday, the Piarist priests expressed their concerns in a public statement on their official Facebook page, criticizing the neglect of historic buildings and accusing the local government’s educational authorities of “absolute neglect,” turning what were once Cuba’s “treasures” into ashes and rubble.
The priests are calling for the immediate return of the cloister and school to the Piarist Order, urging the abandonment of the regime’s “futile” promises and demanding accountability for the “criminal negligence” regarding the historic structure.
“This isn’t just a religious issue; it’s about the vanishing identity of the people in Guanabacoa. Enough of the collusion,” stated the Order, emphasizing that “there is still time” to save the building.
“The Ministry of Education let the building fall into disrepair without any protection. The government overlooked repeated warnings from the Department of Cultural Heritage and from us,” part of the statement mentioned.
The statement continued, “The [Cuban Communist] party allows this criminal inaction to persist: promises simply ‘disappear into bureaucratic silence’ while looting remains evident.”
The Piarist Order has compiled a list of recent incidents highlighting “institutional embarrassments” related to the order and historic buildings. They reported that in October 2025, unknown individuals severely vandalized the church, damaging the Eucharistic menorah and other decorations. After the March fire, the priests noted neglect from the authorities and remarked that all they received from officials and the Communist Party was “promises and waiting.”
Accompanying these statements, the Piarist Order and Cuban media have shared images of the building’s dilapidated state on social platforms.
On Sunday, the Order also posted a video showcasing the building’s devastation, with a caption asking, “Will there be anything left for future generations?”
The post conveyed a sentiment of sorrow regarding the state of Guanabacoa’s historical, religious, and cultural heritage, specifically mentioning the Piarist Cloister and School.
With the Castro regime having seized vital cultural sites in 1961 without investing resources for their upkeep, 67 years of poor communist policies have led to widespread ruin across the country.
An outlet explained that during the communist regime, the building served various purposes, including a music school and dental clinic, but now lies abandoned, still under government control.
