The 21st Provincial Chapter of the Province of Saint Augustine began with the Mass of the Holy Spirit, presided by the Superior General of the Order, Fr. Javier Guerra. The General having arrived from Rome to accompany the religious of North America, encouraged them to be attentive to the voice of the Spirit not only in the chapter sessions, but everyday. To reinforce his words of encouragement he reminded them in the words of Saint Augustine: “We follow Christ to the point that we imitate him.”
Fr. Charles Huse, current Prior Provincial, thanked the religious for the help offered to him during the past three years. In his presentation on the State of the Province, he made a strong emphasis on the aging of its members and the lack of new vocations. This report was supported by the presentation given by Fr. Marlon Beof, president of the Secretariat of Vocations and Formation. For their part, the vocation promoters on the east coast and on the west coast gave a report of their activities and noted that few candidates have requested to enter the community within this last triennium.
Bishop Gallegos
The president of the Secretariat of Spirituality, Fr. Domingos Machado, asked Fr. John Oldfield to update the community on the cause of beatification and canonization of Bishop Alfonso Gallegos, Augustinian Recollect. The notary of the cause, Fr. Eliseo González, provided new information and requested to continue spreading his fame of sanctity, communicating to others the life and works of Bishop Gallegos, who dedicated himself to the less fortunate.
The coordination of the Secular Augustinian Fraternities (SAR) and the possibility of a sabbatical year for the religious were also discussed.
During the coming days, the religious will be deliberating about the future of the Augustinian Recollects in the United States and they will elect their Prior Provincial for coming three years.