Venerable Félix Varela y Morales was born on November 20, 1788, in Havana, Cuba. After being orphaned at a young age, he moved to St. Augustine, Florida, to be raised by his grandparents. At the time, St. Augustine was under Spanish rule and his grandfather was the commander of the city’s Spanish troops. Instead of following in his grandfather’s footsteps and going to military school, however, he decided to pursue the priesthood. After attending the San Carlos Seminary in Havana, he was ordained in 1811 and began his ministry as a professor at the same school.
 
During those days, San Carlos Seminary was open to lay students so, being a philosophy professor, Valera ended up teaching many of the men who would become the Cuban intellectuals of his time. Some even said of him, “it was he who first taught us to think.” A champion of education, he wrote his textbooks in Spanish rather than Latin for them to be more accessible to the average scholar. He became quickly revered as a scholar and was eventually elected to represent Cuba in the Cortes Generales of Spain in Madrid in 1821.
 
While part of the Cortes, Father Varela petitioned for the independence of Latin America. He also published an essay arguing for the abolition of slavery in Cuba. Not long after, though, the liberal government of Spain was overthrown by France, the Cortes dissolved, and he was sentenced to death for his positions. He escaped to New York where he went on to launch the first Spanish-language newspaper in the U.S., publish many articles on human rights and religious tolerance, and foster cooperation between English and Spanish speaking communities.
 
While in New York, he founded and pastored a parish, The Church of the Immigrant, served as Vicar General of the Diocese of New York, and was a theological consultant to the Committee of American Bishops as they drew up the Baltimore Catechism. He learned Gaelic and was able to assist with the influx of Irish refugees coming to the USA as he played a significant role in shaping how the American Church welcomed them, championing their rights as immigrants and respecting those who weren’t Catholic.
 
Father Felix Varela died in 1853 in St. Augustine. His legacy as a thought leader, follower of Christ, and champion for the oppressed earned him many accolades after his death including having an award named after him by the Cuban government. Many streets and institutions also bear his name in Cuba and the United States. He was declared Venerable by the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012.