July 5: The Father of Puerto Rico's Public Schools

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is July 5th, and our story is The Father of Puerto Rico's Public Schools. Rafael Cordero dreamed of teaching the children of Puerto Rico. Despite his family's poverty, his parents, the artist Lucas Cordero and his wife Rita, provided their three children with a good education at home.

Cordero saw no reason why other poor children shouldn't have the same opportunity, and believed he could give it to them. There was only one problem. Cordero was black, which meant in 1810 Puerto Rico, he couldn't hold a teacher's license.

The 20-year-old Cordero weighed his options. In the end, he decided that teaching children mattered more than obeying an unjust law, and opened his home to any and all children, black or white, who wanted an education. He asked for no payment, so even the poorest of the poor could afford to learn.

For 58 years, Cordero personally instructed all the students who came to his home on Luna Street in San Juan. The school day, as he designed it, began with a Salve Regina. Lessons in reading, writing, mathematics, and catechetics followed.

After the children left, Cordero set his books aside and worked late into the night, making shoes and cigars so that he could support himself and the school. Over time, Cordero's reputation as a teacher spread, attracting the notice of Puerto Rico's governor, Juan Prim and Protz. Wanting to investigate the city's black teacher of the poor, Pratt's paid the school a visit.

He left so impressed that not a word was said about Cordero lacking a teaching license. Before Cordero's death on July 5, 1868, he taught some of Puerto Rico's greatest heroes, including abolitionist Román Baldoriotti de Castro and the father of Puerto Rican literature, Alejandro Tapia y Rivera. Cordero himself is known as the father of public schools in Puerto Rico. And since December 2013, when Pope Francis moved the Puerto Rican teacher one step closer to sainthood, he is also known as Venerable Rafael Cordero.

Cordero's unwavering dedication reminds us that the most lasting influence often comes from consistent, quiet acts of love and education. His life encourages us to prioritize the welfare and development of others, to resist unjust restrictions, and to see every child's potential as a sacred trust to nurture. This week, find a way to volunteer, tutor, or mentor someone who lacks access to education or resources.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, July 6th, for another story of faith and courage in America.