A Spanish Roman Catholic priest known for visiting prisoners and taking care of the children of immigrants has been found murdered in Cuba.

The body of Rev Eduardo de la Fuente Serrano was found on a road outside the capital city of Havanna last Saturday.

His burnt out car was found a few miles away in the city of Bauta, according to church officials.

The Spanish news agency EFE said that the priest had been stabbed.

In a statement the Archdiocese of Havana said, ''This is an extraordinary and unusual act for the Cuban church.”

De la Fuente first came to Cuba ten years ago to substitute for Spanish priests on holiday. Three years ago he came to Cuba permanently and started work as a parish priest at Santa Clara de Asisi church in the Lawton neighbourhood of Havana.

The priest was ordained over thirty years ago and had served at a church in Madrid, where he took in a family of ethnic Gypsy orphans.

Another Spanish priest in Cuba, the Rev Isidro Hoyos, said of him, ''That was part of his charm. He was a very good person who was very sensitive to those most in need. We have no idea who could have done this. I can't even imagine it. It's a crime without explanation,” reports the Miami Herald.

The crime was not reported by the Cuban press, and parishioners only found out when it was announced at Mass on Sunday.

Hoyos said, ''There has been no information on the TV, newspaper or even the radio. The information is on the streets, because the priests commented on it during Mass Sunday. We know his body was found dead, and that's it. Nobody knows anything.''

In a statement the church said, 'In the face of this tragic event, we implore God to grant eternal rest to Father Eduardo's soul and beg for mercy for the victimisers.''

The Rev Pedro Angel Garcia of San Antonio de Padoua Parish in the Miramar district of Havana, described de la Fuente as a "simple man, frank and open".

Garcia, also Spanish, has lived in Cuba for 21 years. He told the Associated Press that de la Fuente was probably killed early on Saturday morning, as he had conducted Mass on Friday evening.

He said of de la Fuente, ''He helped those who needed it most so much, finding them clothes, shoes, all kinds of things. He even helped them do repairs on their houses.''

Marina Eugenia Lopez, a church secretary, told the EFE news agency, ''He was a good man, a very good man. They don't know what they have done.''

De la Fuente’s body will be taken back to Spain during the week.