FEBRES CORDERO MUÑOZ, MIGUEL FRANCISCO, ST.

Baptized Francisco, also known as Miguel of Ecuador, scholar, author, philologist, poet, member of the Lasallian Institute of the Brothers of Christian Instruction, first Ecuadorian saint; b. Nov. 7, 1854, Cuenca, Ecuador; d. Feb. 9, 1910, Premia del Mar (near Barcelona), Spain. The scion of a politically prominent family of Cuenca headed by Francisco Febres Cordero Montoya and Ana Muñoz, Francisco was among the first students of the Lasallian Brothers at Cuenca (1863). Francisco joined the Lasallian Brothers, in spite of the initial resistance of his family and a physical deformity that made walking difficult. He took the habit at Cuenca, March 24, 1868 at age 13, and took the name Brother Miguel, the first native Ecuadorian in the Institute. Following his formation, he became a beloved teacher of languages (Spanish, French, and English) at the order's schools at Cuenca, then Quito. His pedagogical skills led to his appointment as public examiner and inspector of Quito's schools. His passion, however, was teaching the catechism to boys preparing for the sacraments. Miguel published the first of his many textbooks, a Spanish grammar, when he was 17. His work in the fields of linguistics and literature won him acclaim as a scholar and membership in the National Academies of Ecuador (1892) (which included membership in the Royal Academy of Spain), France (1900), and Venezuela (1906). He also authored a catechism and other pious works, including hymns. At a time boding civil unrest and religious persecution in France, he was assigned first to Paris (March 1907), then to the motherhouse at Lembecq–lez–Hal (near Brussels), Belgium (July 1907) to translate the Institute's documents into Spanish from French. Because the less temperate climate affected his health, he was transferred (1908) to the juniorate at Premia de Mar near Barcelona, where he was noted for his heroic efforts on behalf of his charges and the church during the July 1909 anarchist riots. Shortly thereafter, he contracted pneumonia and died. His body was returned to Quito at the start of the Spanish Civil War. The Ecuadorean government dedicated a monument to his honor in 1955. Miguel of Ecuador, patron of crippled children, was beatified by Pope Paul VI, Oct. 30, 1977, and canonized by Pope John Paul II on Oct. 21, 1984.

Feast: Feb. 9 (Lasallian Brothers).

Bibliography: Un religieux équatorien, frère Miguel de l'Institut des Frères des écoles chrétiennes, 1854–1910 (Lembecq–lez–Hal, Belgium 1913). g. cevallos garcÍa, Salí tras tí, clamando, y eras ido (Cuenca, Ecuador 1962). r. crespo toral, El hermano Miguel de las escuelas cristiana (Cuenca, Ecuador 1937). r. l. guidi, Un cuore per la scuola: vita di fratel Miguel delle Scuole cristiane (Vicenza 1977). i. moscoso dÁvila and m. malo gonzÁlez, Ramas y floracion de una estirpe gloriosa, 2 v. (Cuenca, Ecuador 1985–1986). e. muÑoz borrero, Antología acerca del Hermano Miguel (Cuenca, Ecuador 1967); Un académico en los altares: el beato hermano Miguel de las Escuelas Cristianas (Quito 1977). m. olivÉ, San Miguel Febres Cordero—ese hermano: 21 de octubre de 1984, fiestas de la canonización (Caracas, Venezuela 1984). l. pÁez fuentes, El hermano Miguel, maestro ejemplar (Quito 1977); Labor pedagógica, científíca y literaria del hermano Miguel (Quito 1991). l. salm, Brother Miguel Febres Cordero, F.S.C.: Teacher, Scholar, Saint (Romeoville, Ill. 1984). Acta Apostolicae Sedis 78 (1986): 5–12. L'Osservatore Romano, Eng. ed., no. 45 (1977): 3–9; no. 46 (1984): 6–7.

[k. i. rabenstein]