Santa Catalina de Siena Church. Paseo Avenue, between 23rd and 25th streets. Vedado, Havana. Cuba.
These are the most recent photos I took of this neo-Gothic building. I was passing by and stopped for a while to contemplate the details of this temple and convent of the Order of Saint Dominic.
On further research I learned that it was founded on 29 April 1688 and this was not its first location. It seems that the first building dedicated to this purpose was located in Calle O'Reilly in Old Havana.
So, this building dates back to 1918 and it was on 13 May of that year that the community of Dominican nuns was moved to remain here until this day.
In order to talk about the beginning of the Dominican nuns' convent in Havana, it is necessary to consult the historical documents in which it is mentioned that its settlement was made possible by the determination of the daughters and sons of Doña Manuela de las Casas and Don Juan de Aréchaga, a Basque merchant, who was also the treasurer and accountant of the royal coffers of Havana from 1633 to 1655.
Specifically, it was his daughters, Teresa, Ana and Francisca, who felt the call of a religious vocation and it was difficult for them to enter the Convent of Santa Clara, because by that time the community of Poor Clare nuns there was already very large. This convent had been founded in 1644 with nuns from Cartagena de Indias.
Faced with this situation, the sisters requested permission for the foundation of the new convent, offering their houses and a large sum of money to adapt the space to the needs of a convent building. After obtaining permission, which apparently was not so simple, they were supported by their brothers and father, who also offered property and money and devoted themselves to the cause.
During his lifetime, Don Juan de Aréchaga y Casas frequently interceded on behalf of the nuns, defending and requesting whatever they needed from the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. This man who had studied at the University of Salamanca, Spain, was a professor, doctor, chancellor and former oidor of the Royal Court of Mexico. He was also the first Havana native to publish a book in Latin.
The cloister was made up of women who, in order to join it, not only had to have a religious vocation, but also had to meet certain family and descendant requirements. They also had to bring a dowry with them so that the community could support itself, although, in the event of death, this amount would be returned to the heirs of the deceased.
It should be noted that this building has also undergone several modifications and restorations, after suffering serious damage during hurricanes, although it still retains its essence.
The history of this temple and convent is very long and its community also faced the consequences of the non-recognition of Catholicism, after Fidel Castro proclaimed the socialist character of the Revolution in April 1961 and defined the new government as Marxist-Leninist.
But well... things changed and for a long time now all religious people, whatever their faith, have been living freely on the island and practising their rituals and so on.
Without wishing to judge, and there are practices that I don't particularly understand, these photos below are irrefutable proof of the amalgam of beliefs that exist and that you come across on a daily basis as something normal. Right in the parterre of St. Catherine of Siena Church I found this.
😐
They are objects of the Yoruba religion. And I think there are works in them... I don't know. I'm not an expert in these matters.
Even on the fence at the entrance of the church they placed one of those pots.
And now I ask licence to @monochromes to show those colours. It's been a while since I've been in this... trance?, 😃 but I think it's very necessary now.
;)
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And that concludes my participation in this #Monomad Challenge.
Original content by @nanixxx. All rights reserved ©, 2025.
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That's quite a lot of history about this convent, Nunixxx. Había que nadar en leche condensada para investigar todo esto 😅
😄
Nunixxx no sabe si está despierta o dormida ahora... 😂
... pero tú sabes escribir dormida? 😂
Si te acuerdas de la piscina de leche condensada 🐘 sabes que sí escribo dormida. 🤗🌞
The ancient gods of Mother Earth were here long before corporate organised religion intervened to control people's lives. It is good to see that some in the community still follow the old ways.
Religions are practised by people who interpret the scriptures as they see fit, or repeat on blind faith the interpretation of others. Thus a system of beliefs and behaviours is created and positions are taken in certain cases for or against under the banner of faith. In the same way, politics is practised by people and they create laws to govern or rule in a state of chaos or any possible situation... all this under the connivance of some and the disapproval of others.
It seems that religion and politics here had their clashes, not because of the religion itself, but because of the positions of those who practised it in relation to some issues.
I don't know if you've heard of Operation Peter Pan. I think the church supported that and this created friction. The church - said those who were steeped in the fervour of the nascent revolution - took in counter-revolutionaries. And this created more friction.
Some time later, among the many processes through which the Cuban Revolution (and this country) has passed, there was a period of rectification of errors. As if history could be erased with the stroke of a pen.
Here, those who wanted to emigrate were called stateless and even rallies were organised in front of their houses and they threw eggs at them or wrote on the walls of their houses and called them gusanos (worms). Those who did not want to join the ranks of the Youth or the Communist Party, revolutionary political organisations, could even lose the opportunity to study or to apply for a job. You couldn't have dollars here and people went to prison for having them. hahahahaha... while I'm writing this I'm laughing but the whole story I'm telling you is very sad. Now the economy is dollarised.
Here rock and the Beatles were banned, until one day... but what about before? All the people who were abused for loving that music. Who couldn't play it, who had to meet clandestinely in order to enjoy it...
Anyway, we've been through so much here... that sometimes... looking back it's so hard....
I had never heard of Op, peter pan before, interesting way for the CIA to destabilise a country on the pretext of "helping".
Good capture of the architecture. The clouds in the top of the shot on image 2 really emphasize the strong presence of the structure itself.
Thank you! Also the cross there on the cloud gives some strength to the image, or so I thought when I was taking the picture. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
What architecture! I love it and the angles from which you have captured it, but the details, I love it!!!! The black and white... an air of nostalgia and memories....
Churches are always a great subject to photograph. You know that. I will go again but with the intention of photographing the inside because this time it was not possible. Thank you!
I want every detail... let's see what I see... they say you can see... things...
Yes, I see almost everything. ;)
I'm hungry. I'm going to go and get something to eat. 👋
Voy a soñar con el más allá.... u otras cosas jajaja
dulces sueños 😃
Hi @nanixxx, I really liked the images of the church, nice pictures. I have a question, is it possible to enter to see it inside?
About the Yoruba cult and other cults, it is understood that the beliefs do not disappear by signing signs, nor with prohibitions. I also liked those images... hopefully someone can explain something to us.
Best regards. 🤗
I suppose you can get in at some point, but when I went it was closed. And I also passed by on my bicycle.
I have to go by public transport to get into those places, you've seen in other posts that I'm not even allowed to go into a garden with my bike.
:(
I don't know anyone who practices that religion to ask them the meaning of those things. I think it's altar stuff. Well yes, the neighbour at the back of my house does practice that religion, but that story is complicated. A few days ago we had a problem with her chickens crossing over here, and when I expressed my concern about it, she got very upset. And I really, enraizar, I keep that kind of person out of my life.
I share your opinion, there are people that the farther the better. About the church, it's a pity all the difficulties you have with the bike, anyway, the photos are very good, I liked them very much. More on a gray, sad and rainy day like the one we have around here.
Thank you very much for your feedback. And I am also glad to have your affection. It will be done. I was thinking that I have abandoned the beautiful habit I had of spending time inside churches. It gives me a lot of peace.
On the grey and gloomy day, I hope from the bottom of my heart that the sun will come out. And that there will be no sadness, but joy. After all, it is the small details and the true and meaningful connections that make us see life in many colours.
The day is not going bad, and the Sun is gone until tomorrow 👋. But we agree that there are more things that give light.
For now I'm getting home and what I feel like doing is something crazy: sitting down. 🤣
😀👋
🛋️ 🚶♂️👋
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