k 
 
 I33t* 
 
 EL MORRO: GRIM GUARDIAN OF HAVANA HARBOR 
 
 IN THE GREATER 
 ANTILLES 
 
 A 5KELTCH OF OUR CHURCH WORK 
 IN CUBA, PORTO RICO AND HAITI 
 
 THE, BOARD OF MISSIONS 
 
 281 FOURTH AVLNUL :: :: . NE.W YORK 
 
IN THE GREATER ANTILLES 
 
 CUBA 
 
 T O understand the nature of the Church’s work 
 in the Island of Cuba one must take into consider¬ 
 ation its two kinds of civilization; that of Spain 
 at the time of Columbus, and that which prevails today 
 in the most enlightened countries of the world. 
 
 For nearly four hundred years Cuba was an isolated 
 colony of Spain, its development stunted by the Spanish 
 policy which forbade colonial production of any com¬ 
 modities the mother country could produce, restricted 
 to the single effort of agriculture, and limited even in 
 this to the production only of sugar and tobacco. Later 
 there was some trade with the United States across the 
 narrow water between Florida and the Island, and 
 possibly wider contact during the English occupation 
 in 1762-1763. That year is notable to us as recording 
 the first English Church services held in Havana. 
 
 BEGINNINGS IN CUBA The first known service 
 
 - of the American Episcopal 
 
 Church in Havana was held by Dr. Mahan, of St. Paul’s 
 Church, Baltimore. Not permitted to hold a public 
 service, he used a private room in one of the hotels. The 
 thousands of foreigners in business in Cuba were without 
 religious privileges. Seamen on vessels visiting the ports 
 were uncared for, and in the terrible epidemics of disease 
 once so prevalent in the island, thousands were buried 
 without religious rites, in trenches and in unconsecrated 
 ground. 
 
 This was the situation which Bishop Whipple, the 
 famous apostle of the Indians, found when he visited 
 Havana in 1871. He was unable to hold a service in the 
 city, as it was against the law. An American man-of- 
 war was kindly offered to him, and here he celebrated 
 the Holy Communion, on Sunday, March 11, 1871. So 
 great was the interest excited by this visit that, by the 
 bishop’s efforts, a sum of money was raised from the 
 foreigners resident in Havana for the support of a clergy¬ 
 man. 
 
 3 
 
EDWARD KENNY Though financial support was 
 
 - now assured, the attitude of the 
 
 Spanish authorities was altogether antagonistic, nor was 
 a cordial welcome to be looked for from the people of 
 Havana and the island generally. It was hard to find a 
 man willing to face these untoward conditions. Finally 
 the Rev. Edward Kenny, a student of Nashotah, was 
 secured by Bishop Whipple, and under the charge of this 
 zealous missionary the work in Cuba was inaugurated. 
 
 After four years Bishop Whipple again visited the 
 island and was able to give a most encouraging account 
 of Mr. Kenny’s ministry. He had won his way and 
 overcome opposition simply because of his apostolate 
 of mercy. Bv degrees the sphere of Mr. Kenny's labors 
 was extended from Havana to adjoining towns; missions, 
 too, were established for the negroes on sugar plantations. 
 
 As the work in Cuba extended, the amount locally 
 contributed in Havana was no longer adequate to support 
 it, and the Cuban Church Missionary Guild was founded, 
 whose purpose was to care for the foreigners resident 
 in the island, the seamen who visited its ports, and “all 
 the unbaptized and uncared for.” Because of its good 
 deeds, the mission attracted the attention of some of the 
 native Cubans and Spanish residents. 
 
 Edward Kenny regarded the whole foreign population 
 as his parish. He cared for the sick and dying when 
 yellow fever made Havana the most unhealthy city in 
 the world. Bishop Knight says, “the story of the nine 
 years spent by Edward Kenny in Cuba furnishes one of 
 the thrilling episodes of missionary endeavor.” Finally 
 broken in health and harassed by lack of financial sup¬ 
 port at home, Mr. Kenny was forced to abandon the 
 work and accept a rectorship in the United States. 
 
 THE SEED GERMINATING This seemed to be 
 
 disaster, final and 
 complete, but an unexpected result followed upon 
 Cuba’s ten years’ war for independence. Cuban exiles 
 in the United States were attracted by the ideals and 
 methods of a Christianity which differed greatly from that 
 of their own country. Some of these, returning, gathered 
 congregations together. Soon six organized missions 
 were reported, with a total list of adherents of 1,650, 
 and when Bishop Young, of Florida, visited Cuba in 
 
1885, as many as 325 candidates presented themselves 
 for confirmation. 
 
 Bishop Stevens of Pennsylvania next had oversight 
 of the Cuban field, and organized among Churchwomen 
 a guild for the maintenance of the work there, but aside 
 from one station at Matanzas little of a permanent 
 nature was accomplished. 
 
 ORGANIZED EFFORT On the death of Bishop 
 
 - Stevens, in 1887, Bishop 
 
 Whitaker was asked by the Presiding Bishop to take the 
 oversight of Cuba, and the American Church Missionary 
 Society began to make grants and send missionaries. 
 In 1894 the first church structure was built at Matanzas 
 at a cost of $800. This was the beginning of better 
 things, but no great advance was possible until the war 
 between the United States and Spain was concluded 
 by the withdrawal of the Spanish garrison and the 
 temporary occupation by the American Army. 
 
 The destitution caused by the years of warfare was 
 universal, and the primary and immediate obligation 
 was to relieve distress. An orphanage for girls was 
 opened in Matanzas. Other philanthropic work on a 
 smaller scale was begun at other places. In Havana an 
 American congregation was gathered. Steady advance 
 was made in all directions, though much more would 
 have been accomplished if, when in 1901 Cuba was con¬ 
 stituted by the General Convention as a foreign mis¬ 
 sionary district, it had been given direct Episcopal over¬ 
 sight. For some time uncertainty prevailed. The 
 American Church Missionary Society decided to with¬ 
 draw all its American representatives from the island, 
 and leave the Cuban missionaries, few in number, to 
 carry on the work. Some thought that this program 
 meant nothing less than the entire abandonment of the 
 mission. 
 
 But the responsibility was not to be evaded. People 
 and churches in the United States felt it their duty to 
 help the Cubans as much as possible. They felt they 
 should give their Island brethren a different conception 
 of religion than that which had prevailed in the colony 
 for nearly four hundred years. In this work of carrying 
 the Gospel to the Cubans the Episcopal Church naturally 
 has had its share. 
 
 5 
 
THE NEW DAY AND ITS WORK 
 
 Such was the situation in 1904, when Bishop Knight 
 was chosen as Bishop of Cuba. Before he landed in 
 H avana he had secured four volunteers from the ranks 
 of the American clergy, and with them a native Cuban. 
 
 The Church’s responsibility was of a three-fold char¬ 
 acter : 
 
 I. TO IMMIGRANTS Out of the flux of interior des- 
 
 - titution and the vigorous new 
 
 element of immigration following the war, the Island 
 stirred from virtual sterility to rapid development. Its 
 proximity to and political affiliation with the United 
 States determined the American preponderance of this 
 new vitalizing force, mixed of course with that of the 
 allied English-speaking countries, Canada and England. 
 
 The first duty of the Episcopal Church was, and is, 
 plainly, to care for these settlers. Havana offered a 
 natural opportunity as a trade and business center, but 
 aside from that city the greater number of Americans 
 settled in mining and rural districts. A large colony of 
 these English-speaking immigrants settled in the moun¬ 
 tains of the Province of Santiago, and began to develop 
 the enormous iron deposits there. They are largely men 
 of education, seeking the most promising fields for their 
 careers as mining engineers, chemists, and so on. Sepa¬ 
 rated from home ties and associations, their work their 
 only vital interest, they found themselves surrounded 
 by an alien civilization, in its transition from old to new 
 ideas and ideals, creating an environment the tendency 
 of which is to drag such men down. The presence of a 
 clergyman of the Church, even though his visits be but 
 infrequent, has a beneficial effect far beyond what 
 people at home can realize. It is a touch of home, 
 stirring memories of associations and habits that have a 
 certain sustaining power. 
 
 The sugar estates command another large class of 
 Americans, for Cuba supplies more than half of the 
 sugar consumed in the United States. This industry is 
 gradually getting into the hands of Americans. A certain 
 amount of skilled American labor is employed and the 
 men, and sometimes their families with them, live near 
 
THE RIGHT REV. ALBION W. KNIGHT. D.D. 
 
 the mills, separated from all contact with the world 
 they have left. For many months in the year their 
 whole life is their absorption in the great mills which 
 run twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. 
 Even the occasional presence of a clergyman of the 
 Church, who can shake them by the hand, and make 
 them feel that they are not forgotten, does untold good. 
 
 A third class of Americans bought land for fruit farms, 
 especially for citrus fruits, both in Cuba and in the Isle 
 of Pines. Here in these colonies is found the family 
 life so seldom seen in the mining and sugar districts. 
 This man is a real pioneer. With wife and children he 
 has left home seeking, in this new and strange country, 
 to better his condition. Such persons find themselves 
 isolated in the midst of a people of very different moral 
 and religious ideals. They need counsel and help, there- 
 
 7 
 
fore the Church must follow them and see to it that they 
 are not lost in or absorbed by their new surroundings. 
 For this it is necessary that we have a resident clergy¬ 
 man, a church, and schools for the children. 
 
 In Cuba the public school is taught in Spanish, by 
 Cuban teachers, and the children naturally learn to 
 think in Spanish, and according to Spanish modes. The 
 Church must maintain American schools among these 
 people because, first of all, they have no money. Their 
 whole modest capital is in grape-fruit and orange groves 
 which must begin to produce before their owners can 
 support the better things of life. Furthermore, an 
 organization like the Church can far better assume the 
 responsibility, and can conduct the schools with less 
 friction than could these people, among whom communal 
 interest has yet to be developed. 
 
 BISHOP KNIGHT AND HIS HELPERS Into these 
 
 - conditions 
 
 of adjusting old and new forces Bishop Knight and his 
 volunteers entered, and began their work by holding a 
 conference in Havana in January, 1905, when they drew 
 up the following program: “To seek out the American 
 and English residents, to shepherd the shepherdless of 
 whatever nationality, to provoke to good works the old 
 Church in the island and the different missionary organi¬ 
 zations at work in Cuba, to teach Christianity as this 
 Church has received it, without rancour to others, and 
 without apology for our mission.” 
 
 The response was immediate; many communities in 
 the island petitioned to have the Episcopal Church estab¬ 
 lished among them. The bishop determined to give pre¬ 
 cedence to the claims of the English-speaking residents; 
 for, as lie says, “without the force of example of the Eng¬ 
 lish-speaking people the preaching of the Gospel, as these 
 English-speaking people understood it, would lose much 
 of its influence on the lives of the native people.” 
 
 With this plan in mind, it might be asked, “What has 
 the Church done for Americans in Cuba?” In addition 
 to Holy Trinity Cathedral in Havana, where the services 
 in English are the main services of the Church, there is 
 in La Gloria, where there is an American colony of 
 several hundred families, a church building, a rectory, 
 and a resident clergyman; also, for the American people 
 
resident in this colony, the Church has been conducting 
 a school; services have been regularly maintained for 
 American settlers at Bartle; on the Isle of Pines are 
 seven mission stations with three church buildings, one 
 rectory, and two resident clergymen; in Havana, there 
 is a Cathedral school for girls and a Cathedral school for 
 boys which have been patronized very extensively by 
 Americans. They were started originally for American 
 children. Services for Americans are conducted at 
 Guantanamo City and Guantanamo Naval Station; at 
 the mining camps of Firmeza and Felton; at Paso Estan- 
 cia, and the sugar estates of Constancia, Preston, Banes 
 and Ensenada de Mora. 
 
 II. THE ENGLISH- The second division of “the 
 SPEAKING NEGRO day’s work’’ is that which deals 
 
 -- with the negro laborer who 
 
 comes from the British West Indies. The supply of 
 operatives in Cuba is far too small, while in the other 
 West Indian Islands they have more than they need. 
 As a result, the negroes come to Cuba in considerable 
 numbers. Among them are many who are already 
 members of the Episcopal Church, or rather of the 
 mother Church of England. 
 
 The care of these people, who are essentially religious 
 and most loyal in their Church affiliations, throws a cer¬ 
 tain burden upon us. We cannot say to the Church of 
 England, “This is your work, come and do it,’’ because 
 the two Churches do not exercise jurisdiction within the 
 same territory. These blacks, having moved into Amer¬ 
 ican jurisdiction, must receive the care of the Church. 
 
 What is being done for them ? At Guantanamo services 
 are regularly maintained for the black Jamaicans, in a 
 beautiful church building, for which there is a resident 
 priest; in Santiago services are conducted regularly; at 
 Ensenada de Mora also is a resident priest and a fine 
 church building; at Banes, at Preston, at Felton and in 
 Havana, services are held regularly for the large English- 
 speaking negro element. In Guantanamo there is also a 
 school under the fostering care of our Church. 
 
 III. THE NATIVE CUBAN The third element with 
 
 - which the Church has 
 
 to deal is the native population of the island. In con- 
 
 9 
 
ducting work among them, no attempt is made to prose¬ 
 lytize. One often hears the question asked, “Why is 
 it necessary to send missionaries to a country like Cuba, 
 which has been nominally Christian for four hundred 
 years, and has been under the care of an ancient church? ” 
 There are two answers: (a) A large proportion of the popu¬ 
 lation of Cuba is shepherdless; there has been a real lack 
 of interest and religious fervor among both priests and 
 people. It is but a natural result of the circumstances 
 that have obtained in Cuba. The priests have not been 
 dependent upon the people for their living, and the 
 people therefore, not having been under the necessity of 
 supporting their religion (except in a direct payment 
 for certain acts performed for them), have lost interest. 
 It is the old story of people not caring for things which 
 have cost them nothing. (6) It is practically impossible 
 for the old Church, with which they have been dealing 
 in the past, to revive their interest in spiritual and 
 religious things; whereas another Church coming in and 
 representing Christianity from a different point of view, 
 excites their interest, and frequently brings them back 
 into the fold of Christ. 
 
 The work therefore of the Episcopal Church among 
 these people is to gather together, as far as possible, 
 those who may come to it as a result of the excitement 
 which has renewed their interest in religious matters, 
 and also to create such an atmosphere as will help the 
 old Church in the Island to do its work more efficiently 
 and faithfully. What the Episcopal Church has done 
 among the native people has come as a direct effect of 
 the work undertaken for the foreign element resident in 
 the island. The natives have witnessed the form of 
 service and the character and nature of the Church’s 
 polity, and having seen these things, have themselves, 
 in many places, called for the Church’s ministrations. 
 In response to such calls the Church has developed a 
 work which spreads over the whole Island. That 
 there is nothing exotic in the Church in Cuba is proved 
 by the advance in financial support. In this respect 
 there has been a record growth; the value of church 
 property has doubled in the last five years, and the 
 appropriation of the Board of Missions is less than the 
 amount raised in Cuba itself for the support of the work. 
 
 10 
 
SOME RESULTS In nine years’ time the Church 
 
 - work has grown from 6 stations to 
 
 50 congregations. The communicant list has increased 
 from 200 to more than 1700, and the children in the 
 Sunday Schools from 75 to over 1300. In the parochial 
 schools the pupils have increased from 75 to over 800. 
 
 The clergy list of eight years ago showed only two 
 clergymen resident in the Island of Cuba; there are now 24. 
 
 As to material gains, nine years ago there were two 
 Church buildings, one parish house and one rectory. At 
 the present time there are twelve church buildings and 
 five parish houses and rectories. The total property 
 values have increased from $12,000 to $181,000. The 
 contribution to the support of the work, raised within 
 the island itself, has mounted in the three years since 
 the General Convention of 1910 to approximately 
 $100,000, while nine years ago the work was not con¬ 
 tributing for its own support more than $1,000 a year. 
 These are evidences of a growth which indicate great 
 possibilities, and also the great need for such work as 
 the Episcopal Church can do. Wherever large results 
 such as these are seen, one can be sure that a great 
 demand has existed, and still exists. 
 
 At present the number of communicants and of clergy 
 among the English-speaking people and the Spanish¬ 
 speaking people is about balanced. But the largest 
 ratio of growth is with the native Cuban element. In 
 a few years the native Church will probably greatly 
 preponderate in numbers. 
 
 And this native Church will need, for a long period 
 of time, the financial aid of the Church in the United 
 States. Those who are being reached belong usually to 
 the poorer class. All movements in the nature of revolu¬ 
 tions or reformations begin from the bottom, never from 
 the top; those on top are naturally contented with their 
 condition and the circumstances which placed them there. 
 
 In the autumn of 1913 Bishop Knight presented his 
 resignation, to become Vice-Chancellor of the Univer¬ 
 sity of the South, at Sewanee, Tennessee. At the General 
 Convention of that year two elections failed to secure an 
 acceptance of the bishopric of Cuba. At the present 
 time, therefore, Bishop Knight continues to administer 
 the field. 
 
 u 
 
PORTO RICO 
 
 The Island of Porto Rico came into the missionary 
 field of the Church after its annexation by the United 
 States in 1899. About three-quarters the size of 
 Connecticut, it has the same population. The inhabi¬ 
 tants, like those of the other West Indian Islands, 
 are a mixture racially. 
 
 In Spanish days the Roman Catholic Church was 
 established. Today all the religions are free in the 
 island. Nominally the entire population was Roman 
 Catholic, but as a matter of fact great numbers of 
 people have no religion whatever. The poorer people 
 are glad to receive the Church’s ministrations. They 
 come in great numbers to hear any one who can preach 
 to them in their own language, and are eager to have 
 their children attend Church schools. 
 
 During the administration of Bishop Van Buren 
 thirteen missions were established in the principal 
 centers, among them St. John the Baptist, in San 
 Juan. One of the 
 most interesting 
 church buildings on 
 the island is Holy 
 Trinity, Ponce, the 
 oldest n o n - R o m a n 
 church building in 
 the Spanish posses¬ 
 sions. Constructed 
 originally for mem¬ 
 bers of the Church 
 of England, it was 
 taken over by the 
 American Church 
 after the Spaniards 
 left the island. 
 
 Through the efforts of Bishop Van Buren a hospital 
 was built in Ponce, and also an episcopal residence at 
 San Juan. 
 
 The hospital, after being closed for a year, was reopened 
 in February, 1913, It is well located, well built and thor¬ 
 oughly equipped, with a house provided by friends for 
 the physician-in-charge. 
 
 12 
 
After ten years’ service in Porto Rico Bishop Van 
 Buren tendered his resignation on account of ill health, 
 April, 1912. Bishop Knight of Cuba temporarily admin¬ 
 istered the work in Porto Rico till another election 
 could be made. 
 
 At the General Convention in New York in October, 
 1913, Rev. Charles B. Colmore accepted the bishopric 
 of Porto Rico. He was consecrated in Sewanee, Ten¬ 
 nessee, Dec. 17, and sailed to his new field in January. 
 
 The Church should make a worthy effort to minister 
 both to the American residents of the island and to 
 those of the Spanish-speaking population who are 
 attracted to her services and are impressed by her 
 religious ideals. 
 
 13 
 
The small area with its dense population affords 
 good opportunity for systematic evangelistic work. 
 Our clergy are few, and those who do successful work 
 among Porto Ricans must be able to speak their tongue. 
 A native ministry is best for the native missions, but 
 it should have the balancing influence of clergy from the 
 United States who realize the genius of the Church. 
 
 A TYPICAL COUNTRY SCENE IN THE WEST INDIES 
 
 HAITI 
 
 Haiti, once a prosperous French colony worked by 
 slave labor, won its independence during the Napo¬ 
 leonic period. Since that time it has had a troubled 
 history, and, like the rest of the West Indian islands, 
 has suffered from economic changes. 
 
 Because of its agricultural, mineral and forest 
 wealth, stronger nations are eager to exploit the 
 resources of this island. The population, which is 
 almost entirely of Negro blood, must be enabled to 
 secure the advantages of the progressive world which 
 surrounds them, but as yet only touches them in 
 material ways. The Haitians, if left to themselves, 
 tend to revert to a savage condition. Religion and 
 education are the two plainly defined ways of help. 
 They offer also a proof that the foreigner does not wish 
 to drive him from his home. 
 
 An American Negro clergyman, James Theodore 
 Holly, went to Haiti in 1801 with a colony of 111 
 persons, and soon a missionary organization was 
 
 14 
 
effected. Not long afterward Dr. Holly was elected 
 Bishop and consecrated in New York after a covenant 
 had been made which placed the Haitian church under 
 the Board of Missions, which supported it as “an 
 independent national Church,” though it never became 
 independent in any true sense. In January, 1912, after 
 the death of Bishop Holly, the national convocation 
 of that Church voted to relinquish its claim to inde¬ 
 pendent government and asked to be received as a 
 missionary district of the American Church. This 
 was done by the General Convention of 1913, and Bishop 
 Colmore, of Porto Rico, was given charge of Haiti. 
 
 At present there are 12 clergy and 29 organized 
 parishes, missions and stations in Haiti. 
 
 The Church work in country districts is in better 
 condition than in the cities. The people of the moun¬ 
 tains and farms are more responsive to the teachings 
 of the Church, in spite of the prevalence of all forms of 
 superstitions and the presence of certain African cults. 
 Vigorous, well-planned work in these districts would 
 effect wide and lasting results. 
 
 The first need is for schools, particularly of an indus¬ 
 trial and agricultural character. Only thorough educa¬ 
 tion and practical training in industrial work can bring 
 about the development of national resourcefulness and 
 steadiness necessary to their independence. 
 
 We have no schools in Haiti. The Roman Church 
 has a few. The Government schools are inadequate 
 and inefficient. Schools, rather than more mission 
 stations, are the immediate need. These, and a church 
 and a resident clergyman for Port au Prince, are urgently 
 demanded by existing conditions. 
 
 PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH IN CUBA, PORTO 
 RICO AND HAITI 
 
 A LMIGHTY God, on whom the Isles do wait, we pray 
 Thee bless the good endeavors of those who strive to 
 propagate Thy truth, and prepare the hearts of all men to 
 receive it. Give Christian people everywhere a ready will to 
 support all good works undertaken in Thy Name, that the 
 sorrow of the world may be lightened and the bounds of Thy 
 Kingdom enlarged, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
 
 15 
 
SUMMARY 
 
 The Missionary District of Cuba includes the Island 
 of Cuba and the Isle of Pines. It has an area of 4700 
 square miles and a population of 2,200,000. For the 
 support of the work, including the salary and travel¬ 
 ing expenses of the bishop, the Board appropriates 
 $46,114 yearly. This appropriation aids in main¬ 
 taining forty-eight stations. Since 1904 Cuba has 
 been under the charge of the Right Rev. Albion 
 Williamson Knight, D.D.' In 1913 he resigned to 
 become the head of the University of the South. 
 Pending the election of a Bishop for Cuba, Bishop 
 Knight has consented to remain in charge. 
 
 The Missionary District of Porto Rico includes the 
 island of that name and adjacent islands. It has an 
 area of 3550 square miles and a population of 1,118,012. 
 For the support of the work the Board appropriates 
 $24,367 yearly, including the traveling, expenses of 
 the bishop, the Rt. Rev. Charles B. Colmore, and the 
 retiring allowance of Bishop Van Buren. Work is 
 maintained at thirteen stations. 
 
 The Missionary District of Haiti includes the Re¬ 
 public of Haiti. It has an area of 10,204 square miles 
 and a population of 1,118,012. For the work in Haiti, 
 including the traveling expenses of Bishop Colmore, 
 who has oversight of Haiti, the Board appropriates 
 $7,803 yearly. This maintains work in twenty-two 
 stations. 
 
 This pamphlet may be obtained from the Literature Department, Board of Missions, 
 SSI Fourth Avenue, New York. Ask for No. 500, 
 
 All offerings for missions should be sent to Mr. George Gordon King, Treasurer, 
 Church Missions House, S81 Fourth Avenue, New York. 
 
 2 Ed., 2-14. 10M. R. P.