Michael
was born in Cuenca, Ecuador in 1854 to a wealthy family. From birth he
had a deformity that disabled him and prevented him from walking. One
day, as he sat in his wheelchair, he saw a rose in the garden. Above the
flowers, he saw a beautiful lady wearing a white and blue dress,
calling his name. His family, who could see nothing other than the rose,
was astonished when he proceeded to get up and walk. From then on,
Michel spoke with Our Lady and Jesus on a regular basis.
When the
De LaSalle Brothers arrived in Ecuador in 1863 and set up a seminary,
Michael enrolled, though his parents objected to his plans to become a
lay brother rather than a priest. Instead, they sent him to the seminary
where his father taught, but within a few months he became seriously
ill and had to return home. His mother finally agreed to let him become a
lay brother. In 1868, Michael entered the order of the De LaSalle
Brothers and a year later was assigned to the Beaterio, a congregation
of lay sisters dedicated to prayer and charitable work in Quito, where
he specialized in preparing children for their First Communion for the
next 26 years.
Transferred to Spain to assist in the translation
of sacred documents, he caught a cold that developed into pneumonia, and
he died on February 9, 1910. His body was returned to Ecuador, and his
tomb in Quito soon became a shrine and place of pilgrimage. The
Ecuadorian government issued stamps bearing his likeness and erected a
bronze and marble monument to him in Quito’s central park. Upon the
statue’s dedication in June, 1965, there was a huge parade in which
30,000 school children participated.
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
St. Michael Febres Cordero
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