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Felix Varela y Morales was born on November 20, 1788 in Havana, Cuba, though he grew up in St. Augustine, Florida. After his mother died in childbirth, his grandfather, Bartolomé Morales helped raise him.
When he was a teenager, Felix’s grandfather, who was a commander of military force in Spanish Florida, wanted to send Felix to a military academy in Spain. Felix, however, refused. Instead, he returned to his homeland and entered the seminary of San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary in Havana. He also studied at the University of Havana and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana when he was 23.
Fr. Felix’s first assignment was to teach chemistry, philosophy, and physics in the seminary. During his time teaching there, he had many famous Cubans as students. One of them, José Cipriano de la Luz y Caballero, was reported to have said, “As long as there is thought in Cuba, we will have to remember him, the one who taught us how to think.” José was a philosopher who is sometimes called, “the father of Cuban intellectual life of the 19th century.”
Fr. Felix also established a literary society in the seminary and published a popular philosophy book before he was thirty years old.
In 1821, the Cuban government chose Fr. Felix to represent Cuba in the Spanish parliament. In that role, Fr. Felix fought for independence from Spain for Latin America and the abolition of slavery. When France invaded Spain, it sentenced Fr. Felix to death. Fortunately, he escaped to the United States and settled in New York City.
In New York, Fr. Felix was able to use his wealth of talents. For example, he established the very first Spanish-speaking newspaper in the United States and others, and he published articles are variety of topics such as religious tolerance, human rights, and education.
By 1837, Fr. Felix found himself as the Vicar General of the Diocese of New York which covered all of New York State and the northern part of New Jersey. He thrived on serving immigrants and even learned Gaelic to better serve Irish immigrants who spoke it.
Fr. Felix Varela used his vast knowledge to serve as a consultant to the American bishops who created the famous Baltimore Catechism which was used to teach the faith to Catholic children until the Second Vatican Council.
Fr. Felix, suffering from fatigue and asthma, retired in 1848 to St. Augustine, Florida. He died there at the age of 64 on February 18, 1835. His body was moved to the Univesity of Havana.
The Cuban government gives the Orden Félix Varela award to individuals who have contributed to Cuban and worldwide culture.
On April 18, 2012, the Church proclaimed Felix to be Venerable. This caused special rejoicing in the Archdiocese of New York and in the Archdiocese of Miami (which has a large Cuban and Cuban-American population).
