Carlos was born in Puerto Rico in 1918. He is the first Puerto Rican to be declared “Blessed” by the Church.
Carlos lived before Vatican II, when changes to the liturgies of the Church were made. When Carlos grew up, the Mass and other celebrations were prayed in Latin. Carlos dreamed of a time when people would be able to hear and respond to the prayers of the Mass in Spanish, the language of his people.
As a young adult, Carlos published magazines to help people better understand the liturgy and the seasons of the Church year. He translated articles about the liturgy from Latin or English into Spanish. He taught religious education classes to high school students. It is said that the most important work he did was to translate all the rituals of the Church into Spanish. Even though the translations were not prayed at celebrations during Carlos’ lifetime, he used them to teach young people and adults the meaning of the words we pray when we gather together to celebrate the sacraments.
Carlos died of cancer when he was only forty-five years old, almost a year after the Second Vatican Council began. His hopes for the reform of the liturgy did become a reality.
Carlos spent his life doing Christ’s work with joy. He did not care about possessions or money. As a matter of fact, he only owned one pair of shoes as an adult. Today those shoes are kept at his sister’s house. People leave notes in them, asking for Carlos’ prayers. People also touch the shoes with reverence as they say a prayer.
We, too, can pray to Blessed Carlos Rodriguez. We can ask him to help us to praise and worship the Lord with all our heart at the Mass.
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