April 10, 2012. (Romereports.com) Cuban priest Félix Varela has been declared 'venerable' by Pope Benedict XVI.  The approval was announced on Easter Sunday,  by New York Cardinal, Timothy Dolan.

Felix Varela was a Cuban priest who worked for the country's independence. He also promoted the improvement of education in the early 19th century.


In his recent trip to Cuba, the Pope talked about  Varela, as he celebrated  Mass in Havana's Revolution Square.

Benedict XVI
“An illustrious son of this city of Havana, who has taken his place in Cuban history as the first one who taught his people how to think. Father Varela offers us a path to a true transformation of society: to form virtuous men and women in order to forge a worthy and free nation, for this transformation depends on the spiritual, in as much as “there is no authentic fatherland without virtue.”

When a person is declared venerable, the Church recognizes that that person exemplified Christian virtues during their lifetime. In fact, along with the approval of miracles, a person must be declared venerable before, he or she is considered for beatification and eventually for canonization.


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