Ángel Riesco Carbajo

His first ministry was served as coadjutor at the parish of El Salvador in La Bañeza. Very close to the population, he distinguished himself by his constant attention to the poor, the sick, and the young. There, he founded groups of catechists and launched the local Catholic Action. In December 1932, he founded the weekly newspaper El Adelanto Bañezano to spread culture and the Christian faith. In 1948, he was appointed vicar general of the diocese of Astorga, a position from which he also founded the diocesan sheet Mi Parroquia.

On May 1, 1957, he founded the Secular Institute of the Apostolic Missionaries of Charity (Misioneras Apostólicas de la Caridad). This institute presented a unique feature for the time: it allowed women to consecrate themselves to God while remaining in the world, including those who were sick, poor, or uneducated, and who were usually refused in traditional religious congregations.

On February 15, 1958, Pope Pius XII appointed him titular bishop of Limisa and auxiliary bishop of Oviedo. He received episcopal consecration on May 11, 1958, in the Cathedral of Astorga at the hands of the apostolic nuncio, Msgr. Ildebrando Antoniutti. A year later, on November 20, 1959, he was transferred as auxiliary bishop to the apostolic administrator of Tudela (archdiocese of Pamplona). He actively participated in the first, third, and fourth sessions of the Second Vatican Council.

During his episcopate, Bishop Riesco Carbajo endured numerous trials, misunderstandings, and moral humiliations, which he accepted with profound humility and dignified silence, without ever breaking ecclesial communion. Due to serious health problems, he submitted his resignation on November 23, 1969. He then retired to La Bañeza to devote himself entirely to the direction and development of his secular institute.

He passed away on July 2, 1972, in La Bañeza due to cardiac arrest. His funeral gathered a vast crowd, and he was buried in the church of Santa María in La Bañeza. On his tomb is engraved the inscription: "He went about doing good" (Pasó haciendo el bien).

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Msgr. Ángel Riesco Carbajo officially opened on May 26, 1994, with the granting of the nihil obstat decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The diocesan inquiry took place in the Diocese of Astorga from October 12, 1995, to May 17, 1997. The validity of this inquiry was decreed by the Vatican on September 24, 1998. The Positio on his heroic virtues was submitted in Rome in 2016. On July 5, 2019, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing his heroic virtues, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

The spirituality of Msgr. Ángel Riesco Carbajo is based on a boundless charity, inspired by the words of Saint Paul: "Caritas Christi urget nos" (The love of Christ urges us), which became his episcopal motto. He is also characterized by the "vow of joy" he imposed upon himself, striving to live every ordinary moment and every trial with a smile and a deep inner peace. His love for the Church was translated into a fervent devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph.

His main legacy remains the Secular Institute of the Apostolic Missionaries of Charity, now present in several countries, notably in Spain, Argentina, and Mexico, continuing his work among the most destitute. The city of La Bañeza also houses a Casa-Museo dedicated to him, which followed an inauguration in 2002 for the centenary of his birth.