Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodríguez-Santiago (1918–1963)

Biography

He was the second of five siblings, two sisters married, the youngest is a Carmelite nun from Vedruna and his only brother is a Benedictine priest, and the first Puerto Rican abbot. When he was six years old, a raging fire consumed his father's modest store and his family's home. As a result, they lost everything and were forced to move to their maternal grandparents' house, separating themselves from their father. This is how he received his first lessons in the Catholic faith and the experiences of that faith very early within his own family. Under the tutelage of the Sisters of Notre Dame and the Redemptorist Fathers, he developed his first education; He becomes an altar boy and possibly feels the call to totally surrender to Christ. During the ninth grade, he began to notice the first symptoms of a gastrointestinal disorder that would cause him many inconveniences and would gradually worsen, but it never weakened his spirit of dedication to Christ and His Church. He graduated from a public school at the age of 21, since due to his illness he had to abandon his studies and work for a while. He worked as an office worker until 1946, when he decided to begin studying for a high school degree at the University of Puerto Rico, and managed to complete a year with excellent grades. In 1947, his health prevented him from continuing his studies formally. However, "Charlie" was interested in everything: the arts, sciences, philosophy, religion, music... In fact, he took piano lessons for only one year, but his interest led him to continue on his own, until he also played the Church organ... The sacred music that he learned to love so much! Carlos Manuel worked as an office worker and translator. He used almost all of his modest salary to promote knowledge and love of Christ, especially through the Sacred Liturgy, and he worked hard to translate articles on Liturgy and Christian Culture, a task to which he dedicated countless hours of work. Increasingly convinced that the Liturgy is the life of the Church, he organized a “Liturgy Circle” in Caguas and founded the Te Deum Laudamus parish choir. At the University of Puerto Rico, he organized another Liturgy Circle (later called the Christian Culture Circle). He continues with his publications and organizes and shapes his famous “Days of Christian Life” together with the university students whom he wants to understand and enjoy the liturgical times. He participated in panels on various topics, organized discussion groups in various towns, and participated in the Brotherhood of Christian Doctrine, the Holy Name Society, and the Knights of Columbus. He taught catechism to high school youth. His health finally undermined by the illness that was diagnosed as terminal cancer of the rectum, after a long operation in March 1963, he suffered “the dark night of faith” thinking he had abandoned God. Before dying, he emotionally rediscovered the Word that had been lost, the one that had given meaning to his life. His passage to eternal life was on July 13, 1963. He was 44 years old. “The 13th is a good day” – he had said before, without us having any idea what that meant. He was beatified by His Holiness John Paul II, on April 29, 2001, in St. Peter's Square, Rome.