Reverend Monsignor Faustino Cordero

Monsignor Faustino Cordero was born in Chita, Boyacá, Colombia, on March 13, 1937. His parents, Paulino Cordero Hernández and Rosa Ana González González, had eight children: +Cleofe, +Isidoro, +Crisanta, +Briseida, +Eloísa, +Julián, +Paulino, and +Faustino.

This family was blessed with many religious vocations. The call to the priesthood was accepted not only by Monsignor Faustino Cordero but also by his brother, Father Julián Cordero González, and by his cousins and nephews: Father José María Fuentes González, Father Guillermo González Botia, Monsignor Jaime Abril González (current Bishop of Arauca), Father Jesús Cuadros Cordero, Father Sabas González González, Father Luis Carlos González Botia, Father Álvaro Hernández Cordero, Father Manuel González Cifuentes, and Father Pedro F. González Cordero.

This blessing to consecrated life was also a call for his Vincentian religious nieces, such as Sister María Cuadros Cordero and Sister Mercedes Cuadros Cordero, and his cousins, Sister Matilde Cifuentes Gonzáles and Sister Arcelia Cifuentes González.

From an early age, he was interested in religious life. By the age of 12, he already had the desire to serve the Lord as an altar server.

His parents were a great inspiration for his vocation, as were the Lazarist Religious Brother Fidenciano Martínez and Monsignor García, Apostolic Prefect of Arauca.

As an outstanding student, he entered the Diocesan Seminary of Bogotá and was ordained a priest on October 10, 1971, by His Excellency Bishop Jesús Emilio Jaramillo Monsalve of Arauca (Prophet and Martyr of Peace in Latin America).

In his early years as a priest, he was appointed Pastor of the Arauca Cathedral in the Diocese of Arauca, Colombia. His interest and dedication led him to study Educational Sciences, specializing in Religious Studies, at La Salle University. By God's will, he was transferred to the United States, where he served as Parochial Vicar at St. Barbara, Our Lady of Fatima, and St. Rita in Long Island City. At this last parish, he was appointed Spiritual Director of the Movimiento Familiar Cristiano in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

On April 16, 1992, he was assigned as Pastor of St. Rocco Parish in Brooklyn. While serving at this church, he was appointed Spiritual Director of the Misioneros Contemplativos AD-Gentes, a religious institute approved by Bishop Fabio Suescun Mutis in Pereira, Colombia.

He was installed as a Prelate of Honor by His Holiness John Paul II on June 29, 1999.

In recognition of his love and service to the Church, he was appointed Spiritual Director of the Hispanic Curia of the Legion of Mary in the Diocese of Brooklyn on June 1, 2008.

In 2011, he was appointed Pastor of St. John the Evangelist - St. Rocco Parish, after they were merged under one administration. In 2012, he was transferred to St. Finbar Parish as a resident priest. Here, he fervently served the faithful for almost 10 years. He spent his final years as a resident at the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, NY.

Today, he has been called to his Heavenly Home, from where he will continue to love and serve God with the same love and humility for all eternity.

THANK YOU, dear Monsignor, for being another Christ on earth, for the love and