Félix Varela

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Havana, Cuba
DiedFebruary 18, 1853 (aged 64)
St. Augustine, Florida, United States

Félix Varela y Morales (November 20, 1788 – February 18, 1853) was a Cuban Catholic priest and independence leader who is regarded as a notable figure in the Catholic Church in both his native Cuba and the United States, where he also served.

Life

Varela was born in

Cathedral of Havana for the Diocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana
.

Joining the seminary faculty within a year of his ordination, he taught philosophy, physics, and chemistry. In his position there, he taught many illustrious Cubans, including José Antonio Saco, Domingo del Monte, José de la Luz y Caballero, and Felipe Poey. Referring to Varela, De la Luz said: "As long as there is thought in Cuba, we will have to remember him, the one who taught us how to think." José Martí's teacher, Rafael María de Mendive, was also Varela's student. During this period, Varela established a literary society and published Miscelánea filosófica,[2] a popular book on philosophy, before he was 30 years old.[1]

A bust of Félix Varela on the grounds of the University of Havana campus.
A bust of Félix Varela on the grounds of the University of Havana campus.

In 1821 Varela was chosen to represent Cuba in the Cortes Generales of Spain in Madrid, where he joined in a petition to the Crown for the independence of Latin America, and also published an essay which argued for the abolition of slavery in Cuba. For such ideas, after the 1823 Spanish Bourbon Restoration overthrew the liberal government of Spain and restored Spanish Bourbon King Ferdinand VII who then brutally suppressed all opposition, he was sentenced to death by the government. Before he could be arrested, however, he fled, first to Gibraltar, then to the United States, where he spent the rest of his life, settling in New York City.[1]

In New York, Varela founded

Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, though it produced only seven issues.[3] He published other newspapers in Spanish, including El Mensajero Semanal, and also in English The Protestant's Abridger and Annotator. He published many articles about human rights, as well as multiple essays on religious tolerance
, cooperation between the English and Spanish-speaking communities, and the importance of education.

After spending some months studying English, he served as an assistant at

St. Peter's Church on Barclay Street from 1825 to 1827.[4] In 1827, Varela purchased a former Episcopalian church building on Ann Street named Christ Church, and founded a new Catholic parish bearing the same name. By 1833, the building was beginning to become unsafe to use, and Varela therefore purchased land on James Street for the construction of a new church that would be dedicated to St. James. However, some members of the congregation complained that James Street was too far from their former church, and so in 1836 Varela also purchased a former Presbyterian church on Chambers Street, which he renamed the Church of the Transfiguration, and he served as the pastor of the church on Chambers Street for his remaining time in New York. In 1853, several years after Varela had left New York for Florida, the parish moved again to a former Protestant church building on Mott Street in the Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan. The area later became known as Chinatown and the parish continues to serve a largely immigrant community as of 2017. It houses a memorial to Varela.[5]

In 1837, Varela was named

New York State and the northern half of New Jersey. In this post, he played a significant role in how the American Church dealt with the tremendous influx of Irish refugees, which was beginning at the time. His desire to assist those in need, coupled with his gift for languages, allowed him to master the Irish language
to communicate more efficiently with many recent Irish arrivals.

Varela served as a theological consultant to the committee of American bishops, which drew up the famous

.

In 1848, worn out by his labors, Varela developed severe

Diocese of St. Augustine approved the relocation of Fr. Varela's remains.[1] Varela's body was dis-interred from Tolomato Cemetery
and returned to Cuba to be laid to rest in the University of Havana's Aula Magna.

Honors

The Cuban government has created an award bearing his name, entitled the Orden Félix Varela, which is given to those whom the government deems to have contributed to Cuban and worldwide culture. (See List of people awarded the Varela award.)

His name is currently associated with a project proposed by the

Cuban American
exile community identify with him because of his experiences.

Places named after Varela

Cause for canonization

Currently, Varela is being considered for canonization as a Catholic saint and was declared a Servant of God, recognizing his life as a devoted Catholic and a model for others in and out of the faith, and officially beginning the process.

On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012, both the

Venerable," meaning he lived a virtuous life within the Catholic faith to a heroic degree and as such is worthy of praise (veneration).[1]

For him to be

beatified, the next stage of the process since he is not a martyr, a miracle (officially deemed to be so from a neutral theological and scientific point of view) must be proved attributable to his direct intercession. The canonization will then follow if another such miracle is declared to have occurred after the first. If canonized, he would be the first Cuban-born person to be honored on the altars
of the Catholic church.

On October 30, 2015, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, Archbishop of Havana, appointed Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia as Postulator in the process for Varela's beatification and canonization. Paglia is also President of the Holy See's Pontifical Council for the Family, and served as Postulator for the process of canonization of Óscar Romero, the martyred Archbishop of San Salvador, who was canonized in 2018.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Davis, James D. (April 10, 2012). "Cuban priest: On a track to sainthood? Father Felix Varela declared 'venerable'". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  2. ^ "Miscelánea filosófica". www.dloc.com.
  3. ^ Estrada, Alfredo José (2007). Havana: An Autobiography. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 105.
  4. ^ Corrigan, Michael. "Register of Clergy", Historical Records and Studies, Vol. 2, United States Catholic Historical Society, 1901, p. 47Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ "Our History". Church of the Transfiguration, NYC. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  6. ^ "Approved names". NameExoworlds. Retrieved 2020-01-02.

External links