Throughout the world every December 5th Augustinian Recollect communities celebrate the anniversary of the Augustinian Recollection. Last month the Filipino friars extended the celebration three additional days: From December 6-8 a cultural symposium was held at the Recollects’ formation center in Mira Nila (Quezon City). A large number of the 178 graduates who studied there attended as well as the current students and faculty.
The Province’s Theologate
Mira Nila, as it is popularly known in the Order, is the flagship of the Recollection in the Philippines. Opening this seminary on December 5, 1985 completed a long process of establishing Augustinian Recollect seminaries in that country. This process required training Augustinian Recollects as faculty members and formators.
Establishing a theologate made it possible to create thirteen years later a new province, the eighth, which was named St. Ezekiel Moreno. Here, taught principally by Recollects, all the Filipino religious of the Order of the last 25 years have been formed. It is also a reference point for those congregations who in recent years have requested that their students be admitted as well. As a matter of fact, of the 62 students who currently attend class at Mira Nila, only 18 are Recollects.
The others belong to 8 religious institutes and there is even one diocesan seminarian. And Mira Nila is not only a formation house. It is also a large compound which includes a sizable library open to the public, the historical archives of the Philippine province and an ambitious museum housing the principle artifacts of the Order in that archipelago. Our Lady of Consolation Parish, staffed by the community’s religious, includes a large parish plant and completes the compound.
Here, taught principally by Recollects, all the Filipino religious of the Order of the last 25 years have been formed. House of the Order
The Order as a whole could not overlook an event as significant as this Silver Jubilee. Our Prior General, Miguel Miro, sent a message which, after having given an overview of the origin of the center and underlined its importance, encouraged all to open themselves to the future with hope. Developing a theme from our recent General Chapter, Miro emphasized the importance of formation and solidly affirmed “in our formation program we need the contribution of the Mira Nila theologate, not only for the Province of St. Ezekiel, but for the Order and the Church.” He concluded with a declaration that is actually a comprehensive vision of our work at this stage: “We need the Augustinian Recollects formed at Mira Nila to be men who live their vocation joyfully, who are men of deep prayer, who love poverty and simplicity, who face difficulties with a spirit of sacrifice, who exert themselves to make community life more fraternal. We need Augustinian Recollects with mission enthusiasm that is capable of transcending borders and discovering new horizons to proclaim the Gospel.”