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Dr Eusebio Leal Spengler
The Philhellene Historian of Havana
Another blessed day has passed- that of July 31, 2020, leaving numerous people on their way to heaven, such as Eusebio, a late dear friend aged 77. He was the man who saved Havana’s historical heritage. For four consecutive decades, driven by his love for aesthetics, he worked eagerly as the director of the restoration program of old Havana and its historical center, thus preventing the collapse of buildings-structures of high architectural value. Today, the entire Old Havana has been cited as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Eusebio received numerous international awards and medals for his contribution as a doctor as well.
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He visited Greece privately several times to admire the ancient Greek and Byzantine monuments. His last visit was when he was invited by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Orthodox Missionary Fraternity welcomed him with fervent love and due respect. In a message he wrote to me: «You welcomed me like St. Paul the Apostle when he came to Thessaloniki…» Then, accompanied by His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras
of Mexico and Central America, he visited Mount Athos. Being a trusted adviser to President Fidel Castro Ruz, he conveyed his spiritual admiration to him, who expressed his great desire to visit Mount Athos himself. Unfortunately, due to Western Government intervention, his visit to this holy place was cancelled.
Eusebio was also the founder of the Holy Church of St. Nicholas in Havana, whose construction was funded by the Cuban Government. The opening ceremony took place on January 25, 2005 by the Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew, who received the key to the Holy Church from President Fidel Castro Ruz.
Finally, this remarkable man of Cuba granted a historic building to the Holy Metropolis of Mexico and Central America to be transformed into a Theological School for Mission-training for all Latin American seminarists.
We bid you farewell, Eusebio… May you rest with the saints in heaven, dear friend. Blessed repose and eternal memory.
Nostis Psarras
