THIS WEEK IN ST. JOHNS COUNTY HISTORY: Cathedral Basilica courtyard dedicated to Varela in 2000

Editor’s note: The St. Augustine Record published this story by Margo Pope on Nov. 23, 2000

Views on social reform by Cuban patriot-priest Felix Varela 175 years ago are still fresh, says Roman Catholic Bishop John Snyder.

Varela spent his early years in St. Augustine and died here in 1853.

During his adult life, he wrote and spoke of human dignity for all — in Cuba as a young priest, in Spain as a member of the Spanish Cortes (parliament), later in the United States as vicar general of the Diocese of New York and in St. Augustine.

Snyder, bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, highlighted Varela at dedication ceremonies for a courtyard in his honor on Nov. 19, 2000, at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine.

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The courtyard bears the blue emblem of the Great Floridians 2000 recognition from the Florida Department of State and the Florida League of Cities. The church will place a bronze statue in the courtyard early in 2001. It was cast in Italy.

Snyder spoke of Varela in present-day terms. He compared his commitment to that of the U.S. Catholic bishops who met in Washington, D.C.

The bishops reaffirmed their advocacy for a re-examination of American immigration laws by federal policy makers. ''He (being Cuban) was an apostle to the Irish. There were no boundaries to his proclaiming of the Gospel,'' Snyder said. ''Last week, the bishops made a statement on immigration. Father Varela reached out to immigrants. The bishops called us to be advocates of justice and human dignity, just as Father Varela did.''

Snyder said the courtyard is key to keeping Varela's ideals in focus.

''It is not just an empty symbol,'' he said. ''It is to allow us to bring to life the memory of the teachings of Father Varela. Shrines have to be alive.''

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The east courtyard site was picked by the church because it is documented as the location of Varela's house. He lived there from about 1849 until his death in 1853. The location was confirmed in 1996 by Miami educator Alberto Martinez-Ramos. He found it in research for his master's degree thesis on Varela among documents in the Library of Congress.

Dr. Amalia Varela de la Torre, president of the Padre Felix Varela Foundation of Miami, called the dedication ''memorable'' for Catholics everywhere. ''We honor a man of great wisdom and the consecration of his life to service (to others).''

She predicted the courtyard will become ''a place of pilgrimage and praise. Father Varela affected the development of his country and is called the founder of the Cuban nationality.''

Varela de la Torre said he was ahead of his time. For example:

• He called for the creation of a commonwealth 50 years before England implemented it.

• He advocated the freedom of slaves in Cuba 40 years before Abraham Lincoln freed slaves in the United States.

• He championed day care nurseries and trade schools for young women.

''It is as much a civic occasion because he dedicated his life to not only spiritual matters but to the quality of life,'' Varela de la Torre said.

He was born Nov. 20, 1788, in Havana, Cuba.

St. Augustine Mayor Len Weeks, a member of the Great Floridians selection committee, said the recognition celebrates Varela's ties to Cuba and St. Augustine. He said he first became aware of Varela's links to the city from Paul Fagundo, Cuban American and community activist.

Weeks said the more he learned, the more he realized the importance of Varela's place in the community and the world. He called Varela a pioneer in the fight for human rights, harmony among groups and the defense of freedom.

Monsignor Octavio Cisneros of the Diocese of Brooklyn said Varela's vocation to serve others was probably honed on the streets of St. Augustine. His mentor, Father Miguel O'Reilly, was the pastor of the Catholic Church that later became the Cathedral-Basilica.

Cisneros is a leading American advocate for the cause of canonization of Varela. Varela is a Servant of God, a step in canonization.

There is no indication if or when canonization will be accorded, Cisneros said, because it requires a miracle attributed to Varela's intervention.

Varela's ties to St. Augustine began after his mother died when he was 4 and he went to live with his grandparents, the Morales. His grandfather, Brevet Col. Bartolome Morales, commanded the 3rd Regiment of the Cuban Battalion assigned to St. Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos.

''I can see him as a young boy running through the streets and getting in and out of the Castillo de San Marcos because he could do that,'' Cisneros said in a lighthearted description of Varela as a youth.

He said Varela returned to St. Augustine later in life from New York, sick and infirm, but was active as a priest ministering where needed.

''The faces of immigrants (today) have changed but, in reality, there is no change,'' Cisneros said. ''The Minorcans of yesterday are the Asians, African Americans and Latin Americans of today.''

Cisneros was referring to St. Augustine's Minorcan community, which came in 1777 fleeing oppression in the plantation of Andrew Turnbull near New Smyrna Beach.

Varela was buried in Tolomato Cemetery in 1853 but in 1911, the Cuban community returned his remains to Havana.

Bishop Agustin Roman, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami and himself a Cuban exile, said he first visited Tolomato in the 1970s.

Roman said then-St. Augustine Bishop Paul Tanner was surprised at interest in Varela's grave by Cubans. ''He (Tanner) said: 'This person must be a very significant man to the Cuban society to have so many friends remember him 150 years after his death. He must be very special.'"

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: This week in history: Felix Varela honored at Cathedral Basilica in 2000