Rafael Arnáiz Barón

It was during the summer of 1930, while on vacation near Ávila with his uncle and aunt, the Duke and Duchess of Maqueda, that his contemplative vocation truly awakened. His uncle and aunt introduced him to the Trappist abbey of San Isidro de Dueñas, located in the province of Palencia. Rafael was immediately captivated by the beauty of the liturgy, the singing of the Salve Regina, and the monastic silence. On January 15, 1934, he abandoned his promising architecture studies to enter the novitiate of San Isidro de Dueñas under the name Brother Maria Rafael. However, after only four months of a rigorous Lent, he was struck down by a fulminant diabetes mellitus (type 1 diabetes) that left him at the point of death and forced him to return to his family in Oviedo for treatment. Once recovered, unable to follow the strict rule of the novices due to his illness, he chose to return to the monastery in January 1936 as a simple conventual oblate. This status, the humblest in the community, did not allow him to take solemn vows, but he accepted this situation with deep humility. His monastic life was constantly disrupted by his failing health and the upheavals of the Spanish Civil War. In September 1936, he was mobilized, but declared unfit for combat in December due to his diabetes. He had to leave and re-enter the monastery several times (four stays in total). Despite these painful interruptions, he persevered in his search for the Absolute. He returned to the abbey permanently on December 15, 1937. It was there, in the monastery infirmary, that he passed away peacefully on April 26, 1938, at the age of 27, a victim of a diabetic coma.

The reputation for holiness of the young oblate spread rapidly beyond the walls of the Abbey of San Isidro de Dueñas, notably thanks to the publication of his spiritual writings, his letters to his mother and uncles, and his personal diaries. His tomb became a place of pilgrimage. The cause for beatification was officially opened in the Diocese of Palencia with an informative process conducted from June 28, 1961, to April 30, 1967. His spiritual writings were declared in conformity with the Catholic faith on January 25, 1974. The formal introduction of the cause in Rome took place on January 15, 1983. The decree on the heroic nature of his virtues was promulgated, conferring upon him the title of Venerable. The first miracle accepted for his beatification was the inexplicable healing of a young Spanish girl from Palencia, who had been crushed by a tractor and declared hopeless by doctors. This miracle was approved by Pope John Paul II on June 13, 1992.

On August 19, 1989, during the World Youth Day (WYD) in Santiago de Compostela, Pope John Paul II proposed Brother Rafael as a model for young people around the world. He solemnly beatified him on September 27, 1992, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome. The miracle required for his canonization concerns the extraordinary healing of Begoña León Alonso, a 30-year-old young woman from Madrid. In December 2000, while five months pregnant, she contracted HELLP syndrome, a fatal obstetric complication. Admitted to the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid on Christmas Day, she underwent an emergency cesarean section to save her daughter Laura. Her condition worsened dramatically: renal and hepatic paralysis, cerebral infarctions, and brain death. A family friend then asked the Bernardine nuns of Burgos to pray for her through the intercession of Blessed Rafael. Against all medical expectations, Begoña began to recover on January 6, 2001, and was completely healed without any sequelae. This miracle was officially approved by Pope Benedict XVI on February 21, 2009. Brother Rafael Arnáiz Barón was canonized on October 11, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI in Saint Peter's Square. He was declared the patron saint of diabetics and one of the patron saints of the 2011 Madrid WYD.

The spirituality of Saint Rafael Arnáiz Barón is summarized by his famous motto: 'God alone!' (¡Solo Dios!). His life, though brief and marked by the frustration of not being able to be a full monk due to his illness, bears witness to a total abandonment to the divine will. He knew how to transform suffering, the humiliation of occupying the last place, and the uncertainties of war into a path of mystical union with Christ. His writings, of great freshness and profound spiritual maturity, reveal the soul of an artist who contemplates the beauty of creation and the infinite love of God. He writes: 'How joyfully one lives when one has only God alone!' His love for the Virgin Mary, particularly under the titles of Our Lady of the Trappe and the Virgin of the Pillar, also deeply marked his journey. He remains today one of the greatest mystics of the 20th century, a model of joy in trial and absolute trust for contemporary youth.