Vatican publishes biography of Father Félix Varela

The Vatican Publishing House released the first Italian edition of Félix Varela: A Biography, a 208-page book about the priest. Written by the late Monsignor Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the volume was published on July 9.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, wrote the foreword. According to a Vatican News report, Paglia described Varela as a founder of national culture whose writings shaped an identity linked to a faith that prioritized conscience and advocated for independence and the end of slavery.

Born in Havana on Nov. 20, 1788, Varela was a priest committed to social issues. After representing the island before the parliament in Madrid in 1821, his legislative proposals to abolish slavery and declare independence led to his exile in 1823. He then settled in New York to serve as a parish priest.