- April 26, 1938) is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

.. He was a trappist monk and he is considered one of the greatest mystics of the XX century.

Rafael Arnáiz, known in the monastery as Brother María Rafael, was born on April 9, 1911, in the city of Burgos, in north-central Spain. He was the first of four sons born to a well-to-do, deeply Christian and Catholic family. As a boy he went to several schools run by the Jesuit Fathers. By his adolescence it was clear that Arnáiz had human, intellectual, artistic and spiritual gifts. These qualities were well-balanced in him, producing an open, positive, joyful attitude to the world of persons and things, characterized by exuberant good humour, respect and humility.

Arnáiz's deeper commitment to Christ began in 1930, just after he graduated from secondary (high) school. As a graduation present, he spent his summer vacation with his Uncle Leopoldo and Aunt María, the Duke and Duchess of Maqueda

Maqueda

Maqueda is a Spanish town located 80 kilometers from Madrid and 45 kilometers from Toledo. Located within the autonomous community Castilla-La Mancha and the province of Toledo, Maqueda is located in the comarca of Torrijos...

, at their residence near Ávila. It marked the beginning of a fruitful spiritual friendship between the nephew and his uncle and aunt. At their encouragement, in September 1930, Arnáiz made his first contact with the Trappist

TRAPPIST

TRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...

 monastery in San Isidro de Dueñas

Dueñas, Palencia

Dueñas is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain....

. He was attracted to the monastery's silent beauty and by the soaring melodies of the Salve Regina

Salve Regina

The "Salve Regina", also known as the Hail Holy Queen, is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. The Salve Regina is traditionally sung at Compline in the time from the Saturday before Trinity...

at Compline

Compline

Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...

. Three years later, having finished his architectural studies, he entered as a postulant

Postulant

A postulant was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a monastery or a convent, both before actual admission and for the length of time preceding their admission into the novitiate...

, then became a novice

Novice

A novice is a person or creature who is new to a field or activity. The term is most commonly applied in religion and sports.-Buddhism:In many Buddhist orders, a man or woman who intends to take ordination must first become a novice, adopting part of the monastic code indicated in the vinaya and...

, convinced that this was his true vocation.

From that moment, Arnáiz’s career accelerated, for he lived only four more years, because of a violent case of saccharin

Saccharin

Saccharin is an artificial sweetener. The basic substance, benzoic sulfilimine, has effectively no food energy and is much sweeter than sucrose, but has a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations...

 diabetes which appeared four months after his entering the monastery. The saddened, perplexed novice was forced to rest at home for a few months before returning to the monastery, which he did three successive times from 1935 through 1937, at the height of the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. Arnáiz was called into the Nationalist Army but was declared unfit for active duty. On his final return to the monastery he was obliged to enter as an oblate

Oblate (religion)

An oblate in Christian monasticism is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Currently, oblate has two meanings:...

, taking the last place and living on the margin of the community; but this circumstance revealed Arnáiz’s intense vocational commitment and the generosity of his gift of self. He died in the monastery’s infirmary at the age of 27, on April 26, 1938.

Despite his brief life in the monastery, Arnáiz embodied Cistercian grace in a pure and intense way. Allowing himself to be led through a series of bewildering contradictions and perplexities – sickness, war, inability to pronounce his vows, abnormal community relations – he renounced himself, his self-will and his human ideals. He lived with humiliation until, in death, he attained the essence of his vows. For Arnáiz, Christ was not the object of study but the companion of a transcendentally lived experience of absolute Love. His one desire was to live in order to love: love Jesus, love Mary, love the Cross, love his monastery. This love encapsulated his personal spirituality.

Arnáiz was proclaimed as a model for the youth of today by Pope John Paul II and beatified by him in 1992. He was canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009.

See also

• Monastery of San Isidro de Dueñas at Spanish Wikipedia