Manuel de la Pila Iglesias was born in Cádiz, Spain, on 16 November 1884.

His parents were Manuel de la Pila Mantes, a Spaniard, and Asuncion Iglesias Geneviera, a Puerto Rican woman.

A few years later he founded the Mercedes Hospital and the Central Clinic to provide medical care to low income families.

The plan provided help to working people and middle class individuals in the payment of medical expenses.

[3] Pila Iglesias was involved in the Puerto Rico Medical Association, becoming its president during a two-year term.

Pila Iglesias was chosen several times to attend national and international medical congresses as a delegate from Puerto Rico.

Among the many contributions of Pila Iglesias was his involvement on the establishment and development of the medical school at the University of Puerto Rico.

[3] On 15 November 1930, Pope Pius XI knighted Pila into the Order of Saint Gregory for his excellence in science, medicine, and religious matters.

[2] The clinic he founded in Ponce, now a major medical center in that city, still carries his name, Hospital Metropolitano Dr.