Foundation
Promotes the cultural and educational work of the Havana Arcbishoprick
Activities
Dialog, Studies, Sacred Music, Bioethics, Entreprenourship
The Cardinal
Biographical notes on Cardinal Ortega
Collaborate
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Actividades
“Father Felix Varela” Cultural Center
The Center is the realization of the initiative of the Office of the Archbishop of Havana for the promotion of Cuban culture, starting with its Christian roots. It is the continuation of the educational work of the Catholic Church, which has been ongoing for centuries in this same location of the Old Royal Seminary of San Carlos and San Ambrosio. In the 19th Century, the location had as a Professor of Philosophy and Sciences Father Felix Varela, who is one of the founders of our Cuban Nationality.
At the present time, the Center is the actual home of the Cardinal Jaime Ortega Foundation in Havana. It is the Center of numerous educational, artistic and communication activities, which give it a life of its own but which also contribute to a harmonious presence which in turn gives pluralistic, capillary support to broader society, respectful of religious or philosophical options of participants.
The Center opens its doors to all who wish to share their personal talents with others, while at the same time benefitting from what others bring.
The Father Felix Varela Cultural Center includes:
- Fine arts exhibits
- Concerts and cultural evenings that bring together a variety of artistic performances;
- Academic events on social, cultural and religious themes;
- A space for dialogue on topics of current public interest;
- Permanent exchanges with individuals and institutions whose day-to-day work is based at the Center, including production of magazines, a printing operation, a nursery, a social research center, and the like;
- The Father Felix Varela Institute for Ecclesiastical Studies;
- The Chair for the study of Sacred Music;
- The “Cuba Emprende” Program; and
- A Museum and Collections.
The Cardinal Jaime Ortega Foundation covers part of the economic needs of the Father Felix Varela Cultural Center.
The budget for this year is € 107 246.51
The Director of the Cultura Center is Doctor Gustavo Andujar Robles.
The President of the Cardinal Jaime Ortega Foundation is Fr. Yosvany Carvajal Sureda.
The President of the Cardinal Jaime Ortega Foundation is Fr. Yosvany Carvajal Sureda.
High Studies in Humanities
The Father Felix Varela Institute for Ecclesiastical Studies is a teaching center for study of Humanities. The Institute is aimed at Catholic lay people and at any person of good will who is looking for professional training in pursuit of degrees in:
- High school diploma in the Humanities.
- College degree in the Humanities, with a specialization in Philosophy, Economics or Pedagogy;
- In the future, a Doctorate in Humanities.
To complete this preparation, the Institute contains in its installations an academic Library specializing in the Humanities. It also carries out Workshops for Christian communities and to train Pastoral Agents.
Our degrees are recognized by the Holy See, under the Bologna Protocol. [Explain in greater detail.
Establish and develop aspects related to the professional training of Cuban youth, as well as the development of business practices outside of Cuba.]
The Institute promotes Humanism from the perspective of Christian Revelation, through scientific investigation and teaching, respecting freedom of religion and of thought of all participants. The object is to graduate high quality professionals in a variety of disciplines, who can go on to assume responsibilities in civil and ecclesiastical life.
The Institute performs a significant service for Christian communities, offering training to Pastoral Agents who lead the different areas of the life of the diocese of the largest city of Cuba, including wide rural areas.
The budget for this year is € 124 776.34
The Director of the Ecclesiastical Studies Institute and the President of the Cardinal Jaime Ortega Foundation is Fr. Yosvany Carvajal Sureda.
Training of Entrepreneurs
With the starting in Cuba of a new category of “Working for Oneself” and other non-state forms of production, Cubans, always an enterprising and hard-working people, are applying their knowledge and creative capacities to meet the growing popular demand for consumer services and products. As a result, new business realities are being developed by those who have taken this path. As of December 2018, more than 500,000 commercial and industrial initiatives had been created, of which 30% were the creation of young people and 34% had been started by women.
All through this time, and to contribute to the success of these efforts, with all that they represent in terms of human and economic progress, the Office of the Archbishop of Havana, within the structure of the Father Felix Varela Cultural Center, has established several entrepreneurial training programs linked to the ongoing work of the different religious orders.
Of these programs, the best-known is “Cuba Emprende” (“Cuba Undertakes”), which already has been functioning for seven years, and which has made possible the formation of more than three thousand entrepreneurs who have started or upgraded their businesses. This has been accomplished through basic training, specialized consultations, and providing the space for the ongoing formation they receive in this program.
The training that is offered includes:
- Courses for starting a business,
- Workshops for provision of basic skills such as accounting, administration and sales;
- Specialized advice according to the concrete needs of the entrepreneurs;
- Room for conferences and spaces for dialogue;
- Fairs; and
- Hands-on practice for professors and graduates outside of Cuba.
The budget for this year is € 182 840.00
The Head of the Training of Entrepreneurs services is Engineer Jorge Mandilego Alfonso.
The President of the Cardinal Jaime Ortega Foundation is Fr. Yosvany Carvajal Sureda.
The President of the Cardinal Jaime Ortega Foundation is Fr. Yosvany Carvajal Sureda.
John Paul II Bio-Ethics Institute
Bioethics is part of the ethical structure of the human being and society, which has become particularly important in the 21st century, especially in relation to life, and in ways to promote and dignify it.
The Institute of Bioethics Juan Pablo II, with more than 20 years of experience, is an institution open to the whole society for the diffusion of Bioethics for people and institutions interested in this subject, without distinction of religious creed, or philosophical opinion.
The Institute cultivates the principles of Autonomy, Plurality, Capillarity, Secularity, and Personalism, at the service of individual groups and the whole society. In this way their beneficiaries can improve their own moral exercise in the personal, professional and social ways.
The Institute of Bioethics maintains stable relations of exchange with homologous institutions of several countries of the world.
The Institute offers:
- •Master’s degree, Courses and Workshops
- School of Thought and Creativity
- Digital Library (link on the site)
- Magazine and Notebooks
The Director of the Bio-Ethics Institute is Doctor Rene Zamora Marin.
The President of the Cardinal Jaime Ortega Foundation is Fr. Yosvany Carvajal Sureda.
Chair of Sacred Music
Sacred Music constitutes a substantial part of Christian culture. It is one of the artistic manifestations which has most linked to the Liturgy from the earliest times of Christianism. It is for that reason that musical studies form a natural part of Humanistic Studies, in the broadest possible sense. As such the Chair of Sacred Music is closely linked to the entirety of studies at the Padre Felix Varela Institute of Ecclesiastical Studies.
The Chair of Sacred Music is constituted around the following Sections:
- Section of the History of Sacred Music.
- Section of Musical Events and Concerts.
- An academic Section linked to the Father Felix Varela Institute for Ecclesiastic Studies, teaching in each of its grades both the Diploma in Sacred Music and a Seminar of Introduction to Sacred Music.
- Section of Cantoria of the Arch-Diocese of San Cristobal de La Habana.
- Instrumentarium Section, including a Johannus Organ, Monarke model; an Armonio; a Positive Organ; a Sperhake Harpsichord, Passau model; a Merklin-Schutze Organ (Paris/Brussels, 1856); and a catalog of organs of Havana.
The Chair is responsible for music and singing at the major Church celebrations through the year, as well as on special occasions. It also organizes periodic events in collaboration with various cultural institutions of Havana.
In addition, the Chair manages a catalog (Instrumentarium) of classical musical instruments, restoring them and ensuring their functionality, for the promotion of classical and contemporary liturgical music, both in the Church and with other institutions with which it collaborates.
The first class of graduates, composed of 7 persons, has just completed their studies. At the present time, there are 12 professors and 7 students.
Events such as the Week of Sacred Music gather more than 200 musicians from Havana and the rest of Cuba.
The Chair of Sacred Music organizes events such as:
- Annually, Sacred Music Week, at the location of the Cultural Center, in which participate notable Cuban and foreign musicians.
- The MUSICANOVA Festival of classical music and choral chants in collaboration with other institutions, with venues at various locations around the city.
The budget for this year is € 23 500.00
The Head of the Sacred Music Chair is Mr. Moisés Santiesteban Pupo.
The President of the Cardinal Jaime Ortega Foundation is Fr. Yosvany Carvajal Sureda.