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Prayer Corner

Saint Miguel Febres Cordero Feast Day

By February 9, 2023No Comments

The Lasallian family celebrates the feast day of Saint Miguel Febres Cordero every February 9.

Life and Journey

Francisco Febres Cordero was born into a family that has always been prominent in Ecuadorian politics. Crippled from birth, he had to overcome family opposition to realize his vocation to be a lay religious, the first native of Ecuador to be received into the Institute.

Brother Miguel was a gifted teacher from the start and a diligent student. When he was not quite twenty years old, he published the first of his many books, a Spanish grammar that soon became a standard text. In time his research and publications in the field of literature and linguistics put him in touch with scholars all over the world and he was granted membership in the National Academies of Ecuador and Spain. Despite high academic honors, teaching remained his first priority, especially his classes in religion and for the young men he prepared for first communion. His students admired his simplicity, his directness, his concern for them, and the intensity of his devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Virgin Mary.

In 1907 he passed through New York on his way to Belgium, where he had been called to translate texts into Spanish for the use of the Brothers recently exiled from France. His health, always delicate, did not easily adjust to the rigors of the European climate. Transferred to the junior novitiate at Premia del Mar in Spain, during a revolutionary outbreak in 1909 he supervised a dramatic evacuation of his young charges to the safety of Barcelona across the bay. Shortly after they were able to return, he contracted pneumonia and he died at Premia, leaving behind a remarkable reputation as scholar, teacher, and saint.

  • Born at Cuenca, Ecuador November 7, 1854
  • Entered the novitiate March 24, 1868
  • Died February 9, 1910
  • Beatified October 30, 1977
  • Canonized October 21, 1984

First male Ecuadorian saint. He remains a national hero in his native land and his tomb has become a site of pilgrimage.

In 1993 the Christian Brothers opened their first (of multiple San Miguel schools) to provide high-quality, Lasallian education to boys of great promise but limited economic resource.

Information on the 25-year history of San Miguel School Chicago can be found at https://sanmiguelchicago.org/.

Novena for St. Miguel Febres Cordero

Let us remember that we are in the most holy presence of God… In the name of the Father…

Let us pray…

Most loving God, You will that all people be born into a human family, so that we may come to know Your never failing love, through the goodness and kindness of our parents and family members. You have blessed Saint Miguel Febres Cordero with the gift of a family, who took active part in the political and communal affairs of his time. We pray for all our families: amidst the trials and challenges we encounter, keep us united in Your love and allow us to seek Your will in all the events that come our way. May the example of our dear Lasallian patron inspire us to build Your Kingdom among us, so that indeed, Jesus may truly remain in our hearts for always. Amen.

Our Father… 3 Hail Mary’s… Glory Be…

I will continue O my God to do all my actions for the love of Thee!

St. Miguel Cordero, pray for us!

St. John Baptist De La Salle, pray for us!

Live Jesus in our hearts forever!

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