Rafael Garcia Herreros

During its first twenty years, Herreros developed his priestly ministry in Santa Rosa de Osos (as trainer of seminarians), in Jericho, in San José de Miranda, in Cartagena and Cali. In these years he wrote many stories and plays as a means of training students and sharing their ideas with them. In the Holy Year of 1950, he traveled to Europe as Advisor to the Catholic action groups. In Rome he attended courses in philosophy at the Gregorian University and lectures on modern apostolate in press, radio and cinema. In Fribourg (Switzerland), he continued to study at the University of the Dominican fathers. He then traveled in Germany, France and Espana.desde 1946 used microphones to broadcast their evangelization work through the Catholic hour. In 1950 he started El Minuto de Dios in Cartagena emissions, then he continued them in Cali. The program, soon acquired a tinge of social outreach through specific programmes for which the father asked for help. It was as he was soon accused of Socialist and even communist. As a result of esto, García Herreros was sent to Medellín (1954) and then to Bogota, where we provided access to the media of television.In 1955 he began the issuance of El Minuto de Dios, programme which aired for 37 years, until his death, and which today are still transmitting members of their community. Great controversy erupted from the same year as their initiation, when he discussed the death penalty; in 1963, when it had to intervene ex-President Guillermo León Valencia to avoid the suspension of the programme; in 1968, when it invited the actress Briggitte Bradot to do good scandal, as well as performances at the beginning of the 1990s in connection with the drug trafficker Pablo Escobar were highly controversial. Among the most notable social works of father Rafael García-Herreros the creation of the district "El Minuto de Dios", is located in Santafe de Bogota, Citadel which has with its parks, gardens, theatres, colleges, jobs health, childcare, the Museum of contemporary art, and the parish founded in 1965. In 1961, to solve the economic crisis was in this district, father García Herreros created in the world's poorest and most expensive Banquet: the feast of the million, national institution carried out in almost all the cities of Colombia and in New York, and in which participated all the Presidents of the Republic from Alberto Lleras Camargo, and beauty queens. On the other hand, the García-Herreros father founded organizations as the Institute of development of communications (INDEC), Corporation Minuto de Dios, radio station, TV Lumen 2000 programmer and publishing, among others. His pastoral work was not reduced to proclaim a spiritual message, but wanted and managed to arouse the social conscience of the country, to such an extent that was called the Minister of finance for the poor. Father García-Herreros died while celebrating the feast of the million at Salon red of the Hotel Tequendama, in 1992.Tildado by some as dreamer and utopian, perhaps few Colombians of our time may show as many concrete achievements as the P. García Herreros, capable of confusing the skepticism of the wise more cautious and calculating.

JARAMILLO, Diego: Rafael Herreros, Bogotá, Editorial Minuto de Dios, 1984.