Rafael Cordero Molina:
Teacher of Great Men, Servant
of God
 Rafael Cordero: Maestro de próceres, Siervo
de Dios
Por Luis R. Negrón Hernández
TRANSLATION BY ANN SHEVLIN
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 AFAEL CORDERO MOLINA was born in San Juan on October 24, 1790.
He was unable to attend
school with other
children because, at the
time, Black children
were not allowed to enroll.
In spite of their poverty
and the racial
obstacles of the times,
Rafael's parents,
craftsman Lucas Cordero
and Rita Molina,
were a well-educated couple
who loved reading
and knowledge, and above
all were devoutly
Christian. Because of this,
they instilled
in little Rafael's intellect
and heart, and
in those of his sisters
Gregoria and Celestina,
a great desire to know
more about the world
that surrounds us, and,
further, to transmit
this interest to others
as a sign of Christian
virtue.
In a short time, Rafael became a well-educated
young man, able to work
as a teacher of elementary
subjects.
In 1810, while living in
San Germán, Rafael Cordero opened his first little school
for Black and Mulatto boys
in his own home.
His sister Celestina later
did the same for
girls, since at that time
in Puerto Rico
and in the rest of the
world, boys and girls
were taught separately.
They returned to San Juan, where Master Cordero
set out to offer free schooling
to poor children
without regard to their
race or social status,
in his home on Luna Street.
To support himself
financially, he worked
diligently as a shoemaker
and cigar maker.
*Home of the teacher Rafael Cordero, Luna
Street, Old San Juan. Photo
by Steve Shevlin.
He would begin and end his classes with the
Marian hymn “Salve Regina”.
He was a devout
follower of Saint Anthony of Padua and he was seen praying constantly, reciting
the rosary every day. On
Sundays he would
dress up in his blue suit
to attend Sunday
Mass before 6:00 in the
morning in the church
of St. Francis of Assisi, near his San Juan home. He remained celibate
all of his life.
| Venezuelan painter Pedro Lovera -son of Juan
Lovera, father of
Venezuelan independence-
settled in Mayaguez
in 1861 and painted a
portrait of Cordero,
which later served as
inspiration for our
painter Francisco Oller.
Oller painted “The
School of Master Cordero”
and dedicated it
while Cordero was alive,
thus immortalizing
him on canvas. Rafael
Cordero did not leave
any writings; he used
to say “I write nothing
in this life, because
I do not wish to
recall today the good that
I did yesterday.
My wish is that the night
erase the good deeds
that I have been able
to do during the
day.” |
|
Can You Find Saints:
Introducing Your
Child to Holy Men and Women |
Rafael Cordero's fame and virtue spread beyond
his impoverished neighborhood.
Well-off families
began to send their children
to his home
school. There, the little
ones learned to
read rapidly and correctly,
to the surprise
of many. He taught them
all catechism (Christian
doctrine), reading, grammar,
history, handwriting,
geography, and arithmetic.
Among his students were the future abolitionist
José Julián Acosta y Calbo;
Román Baldorioty
de Castro, who was also
to become an abolitionist
and a leader in the fight
for autonomy; Manuel
Elzaburu y Vizcarrondo,
who would later found
the Athenaeum of Puerto
Rico and become a
great writer, lawyer, and
a leader in the
Liberal Party; Alejandro
Tapia y Rivera,
considered the "father
of Puerto Rican
literature"; as well as
others who knew
how to honor Puerto Rico
and their Black
teacher, defending all
Puerto Ricans, especially
the least under the kingdom
of heaven: the
poor, the slaves, the persecuted
and the
oppressed.
The Economic Society of Friends of Puerto
Rico awarded Rafael Cordero
a prize of 100
pesos. Master Cordero invested
the money
in his students and gave
alms to the beggars
of San Juan. In his old
age, the government
granted him a small pension
of 15 pesos a
month.
In 1868, sensing that his earthly life was
coming to an end, he had
his followers called
together. He blessed them
and said, “This
poor old man who breathed
love into your
instruction has breathed
his last”. His last
words were “My God, receive
me into your
bosom!” This outstanding
Puerto Rican died
on July 5, 1868, in his
native San Juan.
One of his students, Lorenzo
Puente Acosta,
wrote at the time:
Veneration of virtue, respect for the good
man
who devotes himself,
like the Divine Master,
to the teaching of
those who do not know,
to pouring into the
hearts of youth the principles
of charity, love,
knowledge, glory, and Nation,
bring me to shed
a tear, not on an opulent
tomb,
but on a humble grave
brightened by the merits
of the virtuous man
who sleeps within.
Such a man was Rafael
Cordero. |
Responding to the Apostolic Letter “Novo Millenio
Ineunte” from Pope John Paul II, asking individual churches to gather up
the memories of witnesses
to the faith, “a
heritage which should not
be lost and which
has to carry over to a
perennial debt of
gratitude and a renewed
intent to imitate”,
the bishops of Puerto Rico
have begun the
process of canonization
for the teacher Rafael
Cordero Molina, Servant
of God.
In this respect, the Archbishop of San Juan, Roberto González Nieves O.F.M., called
for a beginning of devotions
to Rafael Cordero,
who lived an outstanding
life in accordance
with the norms of the blessed
evangelists.
He asks that we invoke
the Holy Spirit that
He might enlighten this
cause. He also declared:
“Today should be a moment
of emotion and
happiness for our entire
people to grow in
faith, hope, love, holiness
and unity.”
 RACIÓN
Señor y Dios nuestro,
Tú que infundiste en tu
Siervo,
el Maestro Rafael, laico
puertorriqueño,
un ardiente celo por la
educación integral
de la niñez
y una luminosa caridad
para con los pobres
y desamparados,
haz que yo sepa también
responder con generosidad
de servicio
a las necesidades de los
que me rodean.
Te pido, si es tu voluntad, que concedas la
gracia (pedir favor)
de manera que tu siervo
Rafael sea elevado
a los altares.
Amén.
(Rezar un Padre Nuestro,
un Ave María y un
Gloria)
* Para más información:
Abad Oscar Rivera, OSB
Postulador, Palacio Arzobispal,
Calle del Cristo 50, San
Juan P.R. 00901
(tel. (787) 725-4975
Visite nuestra sección Amén
|
