San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary

San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary is a seminary in Havana, Cuba.

This building was erected by the Jesuits in the mid 18th century to house a seminary first founded in 1689. After the Jesuits were expelled in 1767, it was known as the St. Ambrose Seminary and in 1774 it was opened under the name St. Carlos and St. Ambrosio Royal School Seminary. It is also called St. Carlos Seminary in honor of King Charles III of Spain, who declared it Conciliate in 1777, equaling it to the Spanish seminaries.

It was one of the most important buildings during the colony for it was a training center where prestigious Cuban intellectuals were educated, and as for its construction, new architectural elements were introduced. The original baroque porch has sculptures, and pilasters.

The front was later redesigned to face the bay. The current entrance was designed following the Cathedrals baroque motifs. The old porch, the courtyard and me main stairway, one of the most splendid of colonial times, stands out among Havana’s religious architecture. At both sides of the gate stand two busts of the most representative and important professors in the formation of the Cuban nationality: José Agustín Caballero and Félix Varela.

The center courtyard is the only one of its kind in Cuba: it has galleries on three levels, the first with simple columns, the second with double columns, and the third with plain wooden piers. It still operates as a seminary.

Its present Rector, Father Eduardo Najarro Reyes, S.J., was appointed in 2007. He replaced Msgr. Jorge Enrique Serpa Pérez who was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Pinar del Rio.