Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago
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Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodríguez Santiago, also known as "Blessed Charlie" (22 November 22, 1918 – July 13, 1963), was a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
catechist and liturgist who was
beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their n ...
by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
on April 29, 2001. He is the first Puerto Rican and the first
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
-born layperson in history to be beatified.


Life


Early years

Rodríguez was born in 1918,Childs, Steven. "Miracle Needed to Make First Puerto Rican Saint," ''The Tablet'', Diocese of Brooklyn, July 20, 2012
/ref> in Caguas, Puerto Rico, the son of Manuel Baudelio Rodriguez Rodriguez and Herminia Santiago Esteras, both from large, Catholic families. He was baptized at the nearby Sweet Name of Jesus Church (now the
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...
of the region) on May 4, 1919. Rodríguez was the second of five brothers and sisters. Two of his sisters married, while another became a Carmelite nun. His brother, José (Pepe) Rodriguez became a
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...
and the first Puerto Rican to become
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...
of his
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
. In 1925, a fire destroyed the family's residence and business, and they were forced to live with his mother's parents. That same year, Rodríguez was enrolled to study at the Colegio Católico Notre Dame, attached to the parish church. After graduating the Catholic elementary school, he began to attend
Gautier Benítez High School The Gautier Benitez High School, a school named after Puerto Rican poet José Gautier Benítez, was built in 1924 in Caguas, Puerto Rico and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is a U-shaped, two-story concrete struct ...
. His desire to become a priest was undermined by ill health. At that point, he began to develop
ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and ...
. After two years at the local public high school, he transferred to the Academy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
. His medical problems, however, caused him to leave before graduation. He returned to the family home and continued his high school studies as best he could while working as a clerk, finally receiving his diploma in May 1939.


Pastoral life

While Rodríguez was working as an office clerk in various towns of the region, he dedicated his resources to promote a greater knowledge of the Catholic faith by promoting a greater understanding of the Catholic
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
. Using articles on liturgical subjects he had translated and edited, he began publishing ''Liturgy'' and ''Christian Culture'', which he dedicated innumerable hours. Rodríguez organized discussion groups in towns across the entire island and worked with Catholic social organizations to disseminate his ideas. He also taught
catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adul ...
to high school students whose study aids he supplied out of his pocket. He was a
Knight of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
. In 1946 Rodríguez enrolled at the
University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and ...
in
Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...
, to pursue higher studies, where his brother José and sister Haydée were already UPR faculty members. As his disciples grew in number, he moved into nearby Catholic University Center and organized another Liturgy Circle (later called the ''Círculo de Cultura Cristiana''). Despite excellent grades and his love for studies, however, illness prevented him from completing his second year. Nonetheless, he was a voracious reader and, with only a year's study, was able to master both the piano and the church organ. In 1948, he assembled along with Father McGlone, the parroquial chorus "Te Deum Laudamus". Rodríguez zealously promoted a renewal of the Catholic liturgy among bishops, clergy, and laypeople. He professed extreme devotion to the liturgy and worked to repair the loss of liturgical customs that had been abandoned over generations. He advocated for active participation of the laity in prayer, the use of the vernacular, and – most significantly – the observance of his much loved Paschal Vigil in its proper nighttime setting, after centuries of having this service celebrated on the morning of
Holy Saturday Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...
. Increasingly convinced that “the liturgy is the life of the Church," he organized a "Liturgy Circle" in Caguas to foment better knowledge among the people. He expressed particular concern over the Easter
vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' ( Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become gener ...
, saying that it had lost its ancient character as the focal night of the Christian year. To his delight, the Easter vigil was restored to its proper time near midnight by
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
in 1952. One of his favorite sayings about this feast was ''Vivimos para esa noche'' (We live for that night). This is now the
motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...
on his tomb, which is located in the Cathedral of Caguas.


Death

Rodríguez was diagnosed with rectal cancer following an operation in 1963 and died on July 13, 1963, at the age of 44.


Veneration

Rodríguez did not care about possessions or money. As an adult, he only owned one pair of shoes. Those shoes are kept at his sister's house, where people leave notes in them, asking for his prayers.


Beatification

In 1991, a
Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned (" ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers onl ...
from Spain, Mauro Meza, was authorized by the local
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
to take the story to the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. In Rome, Meza initiated the process of inquiry that could lead to canonization. In 1981, a 42-year-old mother was diagnosed with non- Hodgkin's
malignant Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse. Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not s ...
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include en ...
. She and her husband had been friends of Rodríguez during his college years and knew of his death from cancer. She prayed to Rodríguez for
intercession Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying to a deity on behalf of others, or asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Timothy specified that intercession prayers sh ...
on her behalf. After fully recovering, she publicly attributed her recovery to the miracle of intercession. On July 7, 1997,
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
decreed Rodríguez's heroic sanctity and service in his life. The process took a major step on April 29, 2001, when Rodríguez was beatified by Pope John Paul. Rodríguez is the first Puerto Rican person and the first
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
-born layperson in history to be beatified. In the entire
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...
, Rodríguez is only the second layperson to be beatified, the first being St. Kateri Tekakwitha. The 1983 reform of the Catholic Church's canon law has streamlined the canonization procedure considerably compared to the process carried out previously. Pope John Paul II established the new method, in his apostolic constitution of January 25, 1983, ''Divinus Perfectionis Magister'' and by the
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
Pietro Palazzini Pietro Palazzini (19 May 1912 – 11 October 2000) was an Italian Cardinal, who helped to save the lives of Jewish people in World War II. He was consecrated bishop by the pope in 1962 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1973. He has been comm ...
, Prefect of the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...
. For Rodríguez to pass from Blessed to Saint, one more miracle (confirmed by the Vatican) is necessary.


Legacy

* A school in Bayamón is named after him, with the blessed title. The school, called Escuela Superior Católica de Bayamón initially, was renamed in 2001: Colegio Beato Carlos Manuel Rodríguez. Staff from the school witnessed the beatification ceremony.


See also

* List of Puerto Ricans
EWTN page in Spanish on Blessed Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodríguez


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Carlos Manuel 1918 births 1963 deaths People from Caguas, Puerto Rico Liturgists American magazine publishers (people) Roman Catholic activists Deaths from colorectal cancer Puerto Rican beatified people Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II American beatified people Deaths from cancer in Puerto Rico