ST RAFAEL ARNáIz BARóN
Rajni Manoj tells the story of one of the patron saints of world youth days. Although he died at a young age, St Rafael was proclaimed by Pope John Paul II as a role model for the youth today.
CHILDHOOD
Born into a well-to-do Christian family in Spain in 1911, Rafael Arnáiz Barón was the eldest of four children. He was a very devout and gentle child who loved art but he suffered various illnesses which interrupted his education. His parents consecrated him to Our Lady of the Pillar, whose shrine is at Zaragoza, after he suffered bouts of fever and pleurisy. When he left school he began studying architecture in Madrid. He was a well respected and pleasant young man with an open and joyful attitude to the world.
A DIVINE CALLING
One summer holiday, while staying at the home of his uncle and aunt, near Avila, he visited the Trappist Monastery of San Isidro de Duennas. He was immediately attracted by its prayerful atmosphere and was drawn to the abbey's silent beauty. The Trappist monks lived an austere life of prayer and silence, committing their lives to praying for the world. When he heard the soaring melodies of their Gregorian chant, singing the ‘Salve Regina’ at Evening Prayer, a deeper commitment to Christ began in his young heart. He gave up his studies and entered the Monastery as a Novice on 16 January 1934. Speaking about this decision to join the Order, he said that it had not been prompted by suffering or disappointments but rather by God who, "in his infinite goodness" had given him far more in life than he deserved.
MONASTIC LIFE
Only four months after entering the monastery, he was diagnosed with a serious form of diabetes. For the next two years, a sad and perplexed Brother Raphael was obliged to travel back and forth between the monastery and his home for treatment. This constant travelling was not easy as the Civil War was raging all around. The rules of monastic life at that time did not allow a sick person to take monastic vows so he had to re-enter the monastery as an oblate, an associate living on the margins of the community. But the kind and generous Rafael took it all in good spirit. He did not understand why all these bad things were happening to him but he accepted them for the love of Jesus Christ. On 26 April 1938, he died at the age of 27, in the Abbey’s infirmary. After his death, his reputation for holiness spread rapidly throughout Spain and his grave at San Isidro became a place of pilgrimage, where many prayers were answered.
LIVING TO LOVE
In spite of his brief monastic life, St Raphael had all the qualities of a true Trappist monk as he embraced the Cross of suffering with great love. He said, "I want nothing other than God, and His will shall be my will." St Raphael explained that Christ is not someone we should study but He should be our way of life, so that we reflect Christ’s selfless and absolute love in our lives. St Raphael’s sole desire was to live in order to love. He loved Jesus. He loved Mary. He loved the Cross. And he loved his monastery. This love of Christ was the essence of his personal spirituality.
CANONISATION
In Rome, at his Beatifcation Mass on 27th September 1992, Pope John Paul II said in his homily that St Rapháel Arnaiz Barón was a great example, especially for young people of a loving and unconditional response to the Divine Call. He was later canonised as a Saint by Pope Benedict XVI on 11th October 2009.
