Rafael Manuel Almansa Riaño

The heart of Father Almansa's ministry unfolded at the Church of San Diego in Bogota. For three decades, he dedicated himself tirelessly to welcoming, hearing confessions, and providing spiritual direction. He welcomed with the same kindness the most marginalized individuals and the most influential figures in the country, including several Presidents of the Republic of Colombia. He also played the role of peacemaker and mediator during political crises, notably the Thousand Days' War, and promoted devotion to the Virgen del Campo, whose history he published in 1916.

The reputation of holiness of Father Almansa remained vivid long after his death. In 1995, the Archdiocese of Bogota, under the impetus of Cardinal Pedro Rubiano Sáenz and Monsignor Álvaro Fandiño Franky, officially opened the diocesan process for his beatification. The diocesan inquiry opened on November 24, 1995, and closed on February 20, 1997, before the documents were transmitted to Rome for the examination of the Positio.

On May 9, 2016, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Father Almansa, thus conferring upon him the title of Venerable. For his beatification to be pronounced, the Catholic Church must now officially recognize a miracle performed through his intercession. To this day, the cause is in the Roman phase.

Father Almansa's spirituality was deeply rooted in the Franciscan ideal of simplicity, humility, and absolute poverty. He slept on a bed of stones, without a pillow or blanket, and spent long hours in adoration before the Tabernacle. His legacy remains engraved in Bogota: a marble monument was erected on his grave at the Central Cemetery (Acuerdo 72 of 1927), Congress honored his memory through Law 8 of 1940, and the Bank of the Republic issued a commemorative stamp bearing his likeness in 1958.