He resided in his native home of Ecuador for almost four decades where he promoted education and evangelization before he relocated to Spain where he continued to perform his duties for his order.

According to his great-grand-niece, at the age of five he said he had seen a beautiful lady dressed in white; when he went with his aunt to investigate, there was nobody there, but suddenly he could walk for the first time.

[2] At the age of eight he was saved from being mauled to death at the hands of a wild bull, attributed to be a miracle at the time.

[1] In 1888 he was sent as the representative to the celebration in which Pope Leo XIII beatified the order's founder, John Baptist de la Salle.

Strikes broke out and churches were burned, which led to the evacuation of the order, but despite this he managed to make a pilgrimage to Zaragoza.

[1][8][9] Olga Murillo, great-grand-niece of Cordero, gave details regarding events accepted as miracles required for canonization.

[2] His sanctification commenced with local processes in Barcelona from 1923 to 1924 and, and Quito from 1938 to 1943, although the cause was not formally introduced until 13 November 1935 under Pope Pius XI, granting him the posthumous title of Servant of God.

He was proclaimed to be Venerable on 16 March 1970 after Pope Paul VI recognized his life of heroic virtue.

[10] The second miracle needed for sainthood was what was considered to be the curing of Beatriz Gómez de Núñez of incurable myasthenia gravis when she attended Cordero's beatification ceremony in St Peter's Square, Rome; she suddenly felt no more pain.