Venerable Félix Varela y Morales (November 20, 1788–February 27, 1853) was a notable figure in the Roman Catholic Church in both Cuba and the United States.
Varela was born in Havana, Cuba, and died in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. Grandson of Spanish Lieutenant Bartolomé Morales, he studied to become a Roman Catholic Priest in San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary in Havana, the only seminary in Cuba. He also studied at the University of Havana. At the age of 23 he was ordained in the Cathedral of Havana.
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 disciple.
Varela joined in a petition to the Spanish Crown for the independence of Latin America, and also published an essay which argued for the abolition of slavery in Cuba. For such ideas, he was sentenced to death by the government. Before he could be arrested, however, he sought refuge in Gibraltar and later emigrated to the United States, where he spent the rest of his life.
Varela was the founder of the first Spanish-language newspaper in the U.S., publishing 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. He published other newspapers in Spanish, including El Habanero and El Mensajero Semanal, and also published The Protestant's Abridger and Annotator in New York.
In 1837, he was named Vicar General of the Diocese of New York, which then covered all of New York State and the northern half of New Jersey. In this post, he played a major role in the way the American Church dealt with the tremendous influx of Irish refugees, that was just beginning at the time. His desire to assist those in need coupled with his gift for languages allowed him to master the Irish language in order to communicate more efficiently with many of the recent Irish arrivals. He was later named a Doctor of Theology by St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland.
Nearly sixty years after his death in Florida, his body was dis-interred from Tolomato Cemetery in St. Augustine, Florida and returned to Cuba to be laid to rest in the University of Havana's Aula Magna. If canonized, he would be the first Cuban-born person to be honored on the altars of the Catholic church.
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 Christian Liberation Movement in Cuba, named Proyecto Varela, which was announced to the Cuban people on government-owned TV and radio stations in Cuba by United States President Jimmy Carter. In 1997 the United States Postal Service honored Varela by issuing a 32-cent commemorative stamp. Because of his experiences, many in the Cuban American exile community identify with him.
Currently, Father Félix Varela is being considered for canonization as a Catholic Saint, and was made 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 Archdiocese of New York and the Archdiocese of Miami (each having significant Catholic Cuban-American populations) announced that the Vatican's Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints had declared Father Varela "Venerable", meaning he lived a virtuous life within the Catholic faith to a heroic degree and as such is worthy of praise (veneration).
Now, for him to be beatified, since he is not a martyr, a miracle (officially deemed to be so from an impartial theological and scientific point of view) must be proved attributable to his direct intercession; sainthood would then follow if another such miracle is decreed after the first.
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