Carlos Manuel Rodriguez

St. Charlie (1918-1963) was born as Carlos Manuel Rodriguez in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

At the age of 12, Charlie saved the life of his cousin when he found a dog attacking him. Charlie was, however, prey to the beast, which severely bit him causing Charlie intestinal problems. Eventually his intestinal problems led him to leave University during his years as a young adult.

Charlie, however, became a University Pastor as well as a devotee of the Catholic Church, where he found work. Charlie died at the age of 45 of intestine cancer, but he gained fame after his death: In 1981, a 42 year old mother of one was diagnosed with the disease that took away Charlie's life, and she allegedly started praying to Charlie so that he'd ask God to cure her. She and her husband had been friends of Charlie during Charlie's college years and had known of Charlie's death as a consequence of cancer. After fully recovering, she attributed the miracle to Charlie.

In 1991, Spain's Father Mauro Meza went to Puerto Rico to conduct a seminar. Upon finding out about Charlie, he took Charlie's story to The Vatican, where a process of investigation was initiated. With the findings from the investigation, it was decided that the process to elevate Charlie to the Saint status would be started, a process that culminated on April 29 of 2001 when Charlie was officially elevated to Saint by the Pope John Paul II.