1. Padre Faura: The Man Behind the Street
Federico Llatzer Manuel Faura y Prat, better known as Padre Faura, was born on 30
December 1840 in Barcelona, Spain, in the diocese of Vich. He was the fourth of
twelve children of Victor Canais Faura and Raimunda Canudas Prat; they had seven
boys and five girls. The religiosity of the Faura family is evidenced by having five of
the siblings yielding to the call of God; three would be ordained priests while another
two would become nuns.
Wanting to become a servant of God, Federico Faura entered the diocesan seminary
but left after just three years. Later on, after his application to the Provincial of the
Aragon Province, he was admitted as a lay brother in the Society of Jesus on 16
October 1859. During the same month, ten of his fellow Jesuits in the Philippines
were authorized by Governor-General Fernando Escudero Norzagaray to take over the
Escuela Municipal (later on to become Ateneo Municipal). Realizing Faura’s capability
to become a priest, the Provincial would soon tell him to return to the seminary of
Vich.
Seven years after joining the Jesuit missionary in 1859, he was ordered to proceed to
Manila. Suffering from a fever, he came to Manila on 20 June 1866 and was assigned
to teach mathematics and physics in Ateneo Municipal. He also took charge of the
meteorological work and studies at Ateneo. Eventually, Faura became the first official
director of the Observatory of the Ateneo Municipal de Manila and it was through him
that the observatory gained recognition. The aforementioned observatory had come
into existence on 1 January 1865 and was later granted an official recognition by the
Spanish Government. Through the efforts of Faura, a Royal Decree was issued on 28
April 1884 designating it as the central office of the Meteorological Observatory of
Manila.
Unlike most Spaniards in the Philippines, Faura was not a colonist. It is said that his
chief passion was watching the heavens and recording the winds from his quiet
observatory in Ermita that was later to carry his name. As director of the observatory,
he was able to assemble the Universal Meteorograph that was invented by Rev. Angelo
Secchi, S.J. of the Vatican Laboratory. A very expensive and recently invented
instrument, the weather-recording device was acquired from Rome that was made
possible by the monetary donations of Manila businessmen. They realized the need for
an adequate forecasting system since their businesses were often affected every time
strong typhoons visit the country.
It is said that when the device arrived in the early part of 1869, it was wholly
disassembled with no accompanying assembly instructions whatsoever. It was the first
of its kind to be seen in the Philippines: a delicate instrument composed mainly of
jumbled gears, levers, and springs. Fortunately, Faura was there to work on the
jigsaw puzzle. Staying solely in a room, he would eventually complete the
meteorograph to the surprise of other scholastics. Such is the determination and
patience of the man behind the early triumphs of the institution.

2. Tireless as he was, his health was frail. The tropical climate in the Philippines did not
seem suited to his health. Faura had fever when he first arrived in Manila that would
even last for weeks and recur at intervals during the year. He was forced to take
vacations and rests every now and then to regain his strength. To aggravate the
matter, he also had an asthmatic condition. Despite poor health, he proceeded with
his work magnificently. Encouraged by the Spanish Government, he established
weather stations in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Marianas Islands. Furthermore, he
was once delegate to the 1868 eclipse expedition that met in Europe that became
highly successful despite numerous impediments. Furthermore, he contributed various
articles to the Boletin Meteorologico which was published in Rome by Father Secchi.
In 1871, Faura returned to Europe to continue his theological studies at St. Cassaein in
France, and at the same time, to further his meteorological research. He was
ordained to the priesthood in 1874 and made his solemn profession as a Jesuit in
Rome on 15 August 1877. The following year, Faura returned to the Philippines
officially assuming the position of Director of the observatory. However, lack of
personnel at Ateneo left him without an assistant while simultaneously handling
classes and other assignments. Upon the resumption of his meteorological work, Faura
studied the paths and patterns of typhoons. On 7 July 1879, Faura predicted the
arrival of a strong typhoon that saved hundreds of lives. Because of the typhoon
warning, losses incurred were relatively slight in the affected areas. His forecast was
the first official storm warning in the Far East, and after which, weather forecasting
became a regular service of the observatory.
In 1880, an earthquake hit Manila. With the use of seismological instruments, Faura
observed the earth’s movement and his findings were subsequently reproduced in
studies published after the quake. In appreciation for Faura’s work, citizens of Manila
(and Hong Kong) put up a sum of money for the acquisition of new instruments.
Likewise, the Manila City Council conferred upon him the title of “Adopted Son of
Manila.” In 1885, he was made Corresponding Member of the Meteorological Society
of Hamburg.
Hard work would soon take its toll on Faura’s health. In September 1888, he was
forced to return to Spain due to ill health. Nevertheless, while in Europe, he still
represented the Manila Observatory at the exposition in Barcelona. In January 1890,
Faura came back to the Philippines but again had to leave for Spain in April 1890. This
would be the last time he was to see his native land alive. Faura returned in February
1894 only to take a vacation in Macao on April 1895 to escape the summer heat of
Manila. Moreover, his asthmatic condition had grown from bad to worse. After staying
there for about a month, he came back to Manila and once again resumed work. By
December 1896, he gave up active duty and rested at the Ateneo.
During this time, the Philippine Revolution was well underway as open conflict had
already broken out between his fellow Spaniards and the Filipino people whom he had
greatly served as a scientist. A contributing factor perhaps to the deteriorating health

3. of the weak and anguished man was the eventual execution of Dr. Jose Rizal, one of
the most brilliant pupils he had met at the Ateneo. Faura even visited Rizal inside his
cell at Fort Santiago while awaiting execution at Bagumbayan. Rizal was said to have
remarked that Faura was a prophet since the priest once predicted and told Rizal that
his head would be cut off if he will not restrain himself from bickering with the
colonial government. And so it was, Rizal was martyred at Bagumbayan on 30
December 1896.
Sick at heart, Faura’s health continued to weaken. On 23 January 1897, the eminent
Jesuit meteorologist passed away at the age of 56. Before his death, he laid the
foundations for the astronomical section to complete the Manila Observatory. Both
the seismological and magnetic sections were already in place upon in his death.
Faura faithfully served the people of a country which was not even his own but a
country he knew so well. Immediately after the death of the prolific and foremost
scientific pioneer in the Philippines, city authorities named the street in front of the
observatory Padre Faura Street in recognition of the work done by a man who spent
his life as a servant of God and a disciple of science.
posted by historybuff413 @ 8:22 AM