If we wanted to describe, in a few words, who José María Fernández Colavida is, we would have to affirm, first of all, that he is the real and concrete example of the good man and the true spiritist, taught in The Gospel according to the Spiritism.  

Known, with all justice, as the "Spanish Kardec", he worked and continues to work permanently for the progress of humanity, spreading the Spiritist Doctrine not only by means of his perfect doctrinal knowledge, but also by the faithful example he has always given of the practice of the Spiritist teachings, especially of the law of love, justice and charity. First translator and editor of Allan Kardec's books into Spanish, he never sought material advantages in the works he published, donating many of them for the benefit of doctrinal dissemination or selling them at symbolic prices, which did not even cover the costs generated by the printing. 

It was thanks to her self-sacrificing work of doctrinal dissemination that Amalia Domingo Soler, among other countless beneficiaries, was able to have Allan Kardec's works, as she herself tells in Memoirs:  

​​«[…] Fernández Colavida sent me the complete collection of his Magazine, the works of Allan Kardec and a very affectionate letter. When I saw myself the owner of Kardec's books for which I had longed so much, my joy was immense». 

Founder, director and editor, in Barcelona, of the "Revista Espiritista –Periódico de Estudios Psicológicos", later called "Revista de Estudios Psicológicos", he was the greatest Spiritist disseminator for Spanish-speaking countries. He carried out an admirable work of doctrinal orientation to spiritism in various parts of the world, such as Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, the Philippines, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, as well as Spain.  

The following information, published in the Barcelona newspaper El Diluvio, on the occasion of Fernández Colavida's disincarnation, is transcribed in the work La luz que nos guía (The light that guides us):  

«Nothing more certain than Fernandez has been a true apostle of Spiritism; he has loved his philosophical ideal above all things on Earth, and he proved it well when on October 9, 1861, on the esplanade of Barcelona, in the place where the criminals condemned to the last torture were executed, by order of the Bishop of Barcelona, three hundred volumes and pamphlets on Spiritism, property of Mr. Fernandez, were burnt. The latter continued his propaganda work unperturbed [...]». 

He was the founder of the first Spiritist bookshop in the capital of Catalonia, as well as of the Association of the Friends of the Poor, of the Barcelona Society for the Propagation of Spiritism, and was the director of the Spiritist Group La Paz, institutions in which he worked hard for the good of others. Honorary President of the First International Spiritist Congress, held in Barcelona in September 1888, a few months before his disincarnation, he received the tribute with the greatest humility, as he never sought any recognition except that of his own conscience.  

A great soldier of the peace of the Christ, he worked ceaselessly for the union of Spiritists around the study and practice of the morals of Jesus, as well as the teachings codified by Allan Kardec. His industrious hands, luminous tools in constant service to the Spiritist cause, wrote, in his most recent incarnation, doctrinal texts, letters of guidance to Spiritists from all walks of life and of various nationalities. They also brought aid to the needy of all kinds, both material help to the financially poor and healthy fluids to the sick in body or soul. In the spiritual life, these same hands, besides remaining faithfully in the work of letters and relief, are lovingly extended to us to sustain us in the right fulfilment of our duties as spiritisms. 

At his tomb, where his mortal body lies, the spiritism of Spain and America, as a token of gratitude, wished to build a monument. With all the respect that such an initiative deserves, let us not fail to pay another homage to the immortal example of that noble and beneficent Spirit, by building, in ourselves, the monument of the practice of the two fundamental teachings for every Spiritist:  

«Brothers, let us love one another and be instructed».