HE TAUGHT CUBANS TO THINK

I recently came across a priest who found asylum in the United States. VENERABLE FELIX VARELA y MORALES, born in Havana in, 1788, was a priest, teacher, writer, philosopher, and politician who played a significant role in Cuba’s intellectual, political, and religious life during the first half of the 19th century.

Persecuted and condemned to death by the absolutist authorities, Father Varela went into exile in the United States at the age of 35, where he spent the rest of his life.

Félix Varela y Morales spent his childhood in St. Augustine, Florida. His father was Spanish, the captain of a military regiment in Havana, which was then a Spanish colony. His mother, Josefa Morales, was from Santiago de Cuba.

 Felix was the third and last son of the couple, preceded by his sisters María de Jesus and Cristina. He was baptized a week after birth by the chaplain of the regiment, the Dominican priest Fr. Miguel Hernandez.

However, when he was 3 years old, his mother died and the three children were left in the care of their grandmother and aunts, since their father was in the active military and had to travel continuously.

His grandfather was also in the military and when he was assigned that same year to St. Augustine, in the Florida peninsula (which was then still a Spanish colony), he took Felix with him.

This made it possible for the little boy to attend primary school with Fr. O’Reilly, who taught him Latin, grammar, and the violin, which was not common at that time.

His grandfather wanted him to have a successful military career, but Felix felt called to the priesthood. He returned to Cuba and began his studies at the San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary in Havana. At the age of 23,  he was ordained a priest at the cathedral of Havana by Bishop Diaz de Espada. Because of his young age, he had to ask the Pope for a dispensation.

After several years Father Varela was chosen as the Vicar General of the Diocese of New York. He continued to work for immigrants and was a friend of the Irish. During this time he was also chosen as a theological advisor to the Baltimore Catechism.

 In 1812 he was appointed professor of Philosophy, Physics and Ethics at the seminary. There he would prepare what was to be the first physics and chemistry laboratory in the country.

After teaching at the seminary for several years he was chosen to represent Cuba in the General Courts in Spain. During his time there, he was active in a Foreign Affairs committee and introduced projects to give independence to Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and other territories under the Spanish crown.

Father Varela also advocated for the abolition of slavery, writing, “Constitutional Liberty and equality are synonyms and these words repel slavery and inequality of rights.”

 After the French invasion of Spain in 1823, his political views were under scrutiny and the new government sentenced him to death. He fled the country and eventually settled in New York City. There is founded the nation's first Spanish language Catholic newspaper.

While there, Father Varela was appointed pastor of an Irish parish in the city. He continued his political activism by publishing articles about human rights, alcoholism and religious tolerance. He also defended the rights of immigrants and supported those who were struggling to make it in their new country.

After several years Father Varela was chosen as the Vicar General of the Diocese of New York. He continued to work for immigrants and was a friend of the Irish. During this time he was also chosen as a theological advisor to the Baltimore Catechism.

Due to health issues, Father Varela was forced to retire, returning to St. Augustine, Florida, where he died five years after arriving in 1853.

His life was an inspiration to many and after his death the cause for his canonization was opened.

The renowned scholar’s remains lie at the Main Lecture hall of Havana University, a fitting fate for the man defined by the Cubans as “the one who taught us to think.”

Pope St. John Paul II praised him as "the best synthesis of Christian faith and Cuban culture." Not only is he recognized for his greatness by the Church, but In 1981, the government of the Republic of Cuba created the Order of Félix Varela, the highest distinction granted to Cubans and foreigners, as well as to cultural collectives, in recognition of extraordinary contributions made in favor of culture.

Pope Benedict XVI declared Father Félix Varela as Venerable in 2012.