CUBA: Griselda Delgado Del Carpio installed as bishop
Episcopal News Service. November 30, 2010 [113010-05]
ENS staff
The Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado Del Carpio was installed as bishop of the Episcopal Church of Cuba during a Nov. 28 ceremony at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Havana.
Among those attending the ceremony were Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Archbishop Fred Hiltz of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Delgado, 55, was consecrated as bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Church of Cuba on Feb. 7 and has since worked with Bishop Miguel Tamayo of the Anglican Church of Uruguay as he completed his six-year tenure as Cuba's interim bishop. With Tamayo's retirement, Delgado becomes Cuba's diocesan bishop and the first woman to serve in that role.
Bolivia-born Delgado, who was formerly rector of Santa Maria Virgen in Itabo, Cuba, was appointed as bishop coadjutor in January by the Metropolitan Council of Cuba, which governs the Cuban church in matters of faith and order. The council, which is chaired by Hiltz and includes Jefferts Schori as a member, has overseen the church in Cuba since it separated from the U.S.-based Episcopal Church in 1967.
Earlier this year, Jefferts Schori said that the council was "deeply impressed" with Delgado's responses to questions it had asked a number of candidates about their understanding of episcopal ministry, the challenges and opportunities facing the church in Cuba, and how they would embrace them through their leadership.
In September 2009, the Cuban church, for the second time, failed to elect a bishop coadjutor. After 13 inconclusive ballots were cast, the choice of a coadjutor fell to the council.
The Cuban church includes about 40 congregations and some 10,000 Episcopalians.