Felix Varela
(1788-1853)

Died aged c. 65

Father Felix Varela was born in Santiago, Cuba, November 20, 1788. After the death of his mother, he was placed in the care of his maternal grandfather, an officer at the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine. He was ordained a priest in 1811 and was designated a Professor of Philosophy at the Seminary College of San Carlos y San Ambrosia in Havana. In 1823, he moved to New York City where he conducted his ministry for 30 years. There he founded schools for children, built churches and evangelized the poor. Varela was an outspoken advocate for Cuban independence and worked to improve the conditions of African-Americans. Poor health forced him to retire to St. Augustine where he died February 18, 1853. He was buried in the city’s Tolomato Cemetery but was re-interred in 1911 in Havana where a national shrine was built in his honor. In 1985 the Holy See authorized the Cuban Episcopate to begin the canonical process on the sainthood of Father Varela.

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