Raphael Louis Rafiringa
Malagasy missionary (1856-1919)
Feast: 19 May (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Raphaël-Louis Rafiringa was born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on 1 May 1856 and became the first Malagasy Brother of the Christian Schools.
When all the missionaries were expelled in the wars of 1883 and 1895, he faced the situation with courage; left alone, he went on living as though the community still existed, ringing the bell every day, and kept the Church's mission going in his own land.
The miracles
He was beatified in Antananarivo before more than 150,000 faithful. The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Malagasy brother who kept the Church alive in Madagascar when the missionaries were expelled.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Raphaël-Louis Rafiringa
- Wikidata Q9302982 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Raphaël Rafiringa (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.