Vicar Apostolic of Puyo
Rafael was born on October 23, 1951, in La Horra, in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. As a young man, he discovered his religious vocation and decided to enter the diocesan seminary. He was ordained a priest on October 23, 1976. On November 28, 1998, Pope John Paul II appointed him Vicar Apostolic of Puyo and Titular Bishop of Cerbali. He was consecrated on January 6, 1999, by Pope John Paul II. His co-consecrators were Giovanni Battista Re, then an official of the Holy See's Secretariat of State, and Francesco Monterisi, then Secretary of the College of Cardinals. He took canonical possession of the vicariate on February 21, 1999. He is a member of the Commission for the Magisterium of the Church within the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE).