[1] Cordero was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico,[2] then part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, into a low-income family.

In 1802, his older sister Celestina, also a pious Catholic, established a "escuela de amigas" for girls on the island.

[4] Among the distinguished alumni who attended Cordero's school were José Julian Acosta, Román Baldorioty de Castro and Alejandro Tapia y Rivera.

[3] Cordero was awarded the Premio de Virtud by the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País en Puerto Rico, an economic club whose members were friends of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rican poet José Gualberto Padilla published a poem titled "El maestro Rafael" honoring the educator.

In 2003, the Catholic Church, upon the request of the Archbishop of San Juan, Roberto González Nieves, O.F.M., began the process of Cordero's beatification.