Br. Saint Miguel Cordero

Francisco Cordero was born in southern Ecuador on November 7, 1854, the son of a professor and grandson of General Leon Febres Cordero, one of the heroes of the struggle for the independence of Ecuador.  His legs were deformed from birth and he was unable to walk until he was five years old when he had a vision of "a lovely lady dressed in white with a blue mantle."  From the moment he entered the Brothers' school as a student he fell in love with them and their way of life.  He asked his parents permission to enter the Brother but his entire family was strenuously opposed to the idea and his father made him enter the seminary school to dissuade him further.  Francisco stayed there only three months before his mother, seeing his stress and frustration, gave permission for him to make his 

Novitiate in the Brothers' community at Cuenca where he received the habit on March 24, 1868, and was given the name Brother Miguel.  His father subsequently revoked his approval and tried on several occasions to force his son to return home.  When this proved unsuccessful, his father broke off all contact with his son for a period of five years.  After his Novitiate year he was sent to Quito where he taught for almost forty years.  He began his apostolic work with the poor children in the school known as the Beaterio.  He devoted himself to the study of languages and he compiled textbooks in the field of catechetics, linguistics and cultural subjects.  His knowledge of Castilian Spanish was so extensive that he was elected a member of the Ecuadorian Academy for the Spanish Language and a corresponding member of the Royal Academy for the Spanish Language as well as a corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Spain.  In 1888 Brother Miguel was delegated by the Brothers in Ecuador to represent them in Rome for the beatification of the Founder, John Baptist De La Salle.  In 1902 and again 1906 he was Director of Novices in Quito and in 1907 he was called to Spain. He was assigned to teach Spanish to the Brothers who being forced by law to leave France so that they could continue their teaching in Spanish speaking countries.  This was, perhaps, the busiest period of his life, for along with his teaching duties, he was working on at least five books, including a book on the History of the Church, a history of Ecuador and a course in Spanish Literature.  In January of 1910 he caught a severe chill.  By February this had turned to pneumonia and on February 9th he died.  He was buried in the cemetery attached to the Brothers' house in Premia.  On July 21, 1936, the Communist insurgents sacked the house of Permia and set fire to the chapel.  The coffin of Brother Miguel had been opened but the contents were not disturbed. The Minister of Foreign Affairs at Quito claimed the remains of Brother Miguel and sent them to Quito, Ecuador, for burial.  Miguel was beatified on October 30, 1977, and seven years later on October 21, 1984, he was canonized a saint by Pope Paul VI.  At the time of his death he was in his forty-second year as a De La Salle Christian Brother.

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