Saint Carlos Santiago

I was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico on November 22, 1918. My parents Manuel Baudilio Rodríguez and Herminia Santiago, both came from large families with strong Christian roots. I was baptized at the Sweet Name of Jesus Church in Caguas on May 4, 1919. I was the second of five brothers and sisters. Two of my sisters married, while another is a Carmelite nun. My only brother is a Benedictine priest, and was the first Puerto Rican to become the abbot of a monastery. At the age of six I began schooling at the Catholic School of Caguas, where I remained until completing eighth grade. It was there that I would come into contact with the Sisters of Notre Dame. I cultivated a special friendship with them throughout my entire life. Under their tutelage – as well as that of the Redemptorist Fathers – I received my initial religious and humanistic education.I went on to study at the public Gautier Benítez High School in Caguas. But shortly after, I experienced the first symptoms of what would later become a severe gastrointestinal disorder: ulcerative colitis. This illness would caused much suffering and inconvenience for the rest of my life. Nevertheless it never undermined my commitment to Christ and His Church.After graduating I worked as an office clerk in Caguas, Gurabo and at the Agriculture Experiment Station, which was part of the UPR. There I also translated documents from English to Spanish. I spent almost my entire modest salary to promote knowledge and love of Christ. I did this especially promoting a greater understanding of the significance of the Sacred Liturgy. Using articles on liturgical subjects which I translated and edited, I began publishing Liturgy and Christian Culture, publications to which I dedicated innumerable hours.In Río Piedras, where brother Pepe and sister Haydée were already UPR faculty members, I was able to achieve my ardent desire to make Christ known, among professors and students. As disciples grew in number, I moved into nearby Catholic University Center and organized another Liturgy Circle (later called the Círculo de Cultura Cristiana).I continued my publications and also organized my notable Christian Life Days for the benefit of University students who sought to understand and enjoy the liturgical seasons. I participated in panels on various topics, and distinguished myself for my insistent emphasis on the importance of liturgical life, as well as the paschal meaning of life and death in Christ.I organized discussion groups in various towns, and participated in societies such as the Brotherhood of Christian Doctrine, the Holy Name Society and the Knights of Columbus. I also taught Catechism to high school students whose teaching aids I supplied from my own income.I zealously promoted and stood for liturgical renewal, among bishops, clergy and laymen: active participation of laity, the use of the vernacular and – most especially – the observance of my much loved Paschal Vigil, which to was restored to its proper time near midnight by Pope Pius XII in 1952. Of note, all of my proactive lay apostolic activity took place prior to the Second Vatican Council, thus a veritable preconciliar apostle towards approval of the Sacrosanctum concillium, at its onset.My physical strength declined gradually, but my spirit never failed. I lived each moment quietly overcoming pain with the profound joy of one who knows himself to be resurrected. Following an aggressive “life saving: surgery in 1963 I turned out to have advanced terminal rectal cancer. Near the end, I experienced the “dark night of faith”, thinking myself abandoned by God, I rediscovered the Word I had lost, and which had given sense to my entire life. My passage to eternal life took place on July 13, 1963. I was 44. “The 13th is a good day,” I had said a few days before my death.My Beatification Process was indeed a swift one! Initiated in 1992, the positio on heroic virtues, lead to my status as Venerable as of July 7, 1997. The miracle for my beatification (cure of non-Hodgkins malignant lymphoma back in 1981) was approved on December 20,1999 by Pope John Paul II. Thus, a record-making eight-year span, a first for lay actors!