On February 22 the Discalced Nuns of the convent of Santo Sepulcro turned over the monastery, with all timmovable in it, to the Carmelitas Mensajeras del Espíritu Santo. This institute, with its more than 200 members at present, was founded in Brazil in 1984. They are found in Brazil, France, Italy and Spain.
Mons. Carlos Osoro, the archbishop of Valencia, witnessed the signing of contract between the prioress of the Augustinian Discalced and president of the Federation, Pilar Coderch Narro, and Mother María José del Espíritu Santo –Eudette Rodrigues Santana the foundress and superior general of this Carmelite congregation. This completed the execution of the decree of january 10, 2013, whereby the community of the Augustinian Discalced of Alcoy was suppressed and fused with the monastery of Benigánim (Valencia).
The first community of Augustinian Discalced was established in Alcoy on December 18, 1597. The turnover ended their 416-year presence in this city. The archbishop and viceroy of Valencia san Juan de Ribera founded the monastery for the Eucharistic adoration. The first nuns came from the convent of San Cristobal of the Augustinian Canonesses in Valencia.
Substitute
This reformation is parallel to what Mother Mariana de San José did, beginning the year 1603 within the Augustinian Order, of which move were born 45 Augustinian Recollect monasteries all over the world.
The reformation of san Juan de Ribera, however, only resulted into nine convents, almost all of which are found in Valencia. Two (the convents of Denia and Almansa) became Augustinian Recollects; others were abandoned the past years: the convent of San Martín de Tours de Segorbe (Castellón) was suppressed in 2000; Santa Úrsula de Valencia in 2001; in 2005, San Felipe Neri and Santa Mónica of Jávea (Alicante) were also suppressed; and, in that same year, the convent of San José and Santa Ana de L’Ollería (Valencia).
This does not mean that convents were closed down. The discalced communities were suppressed, but much care was taken to find substitutes and to provide continuity to the religious institute. The Santo Sepulcro of Alcoy is not an isolated case. Today, in the monastery of Jávea there lives a religious community, who comes from Guatemala. A religious group from Argentina now occupies the convent of L’Ollería.
Benigánim, a center of spirituality
This ungrateful but necessary task of transferring, looking for religious communities to take the place of the discalced nuns – has been the main work of the assistant to the Federación de Agustinas Descalzas, the Augustinian Recollect Juan Manuel Gutiérrez Díaz, with the support of the Mother Federal, the religious visitor of the archdiocese of Valencia, José María Ciller, CMF, and the bishop himself of Valencia, Carlos Osoro Sierra.
With this suppression, there remain but two convents of Augustinian Discalced, Murcia and Benigánim (Valencia), with a total membership of 26 nuns. The few religious of Alcoy have been incorporated to the monastery of Purísima and the Beata Inés of Benigánim, which in some way has be the spiritual center of the Order. The Church-recognized religious came from this community, Josefa María de Santa Inés (1625-1696) and the martyr Josefa Purificación Masiá Ferragut (1887-1936).
It can be said that, finally, the Augustinian Discalced of Alcoy return to the origins. The reform conceived by san Juan de Ribera was a hybrid of Augustinian and Carmelite charisms, considering that the Saint gave the nuns the Rule of Saint Augustine and the Constitutions of Saint Therese of Jesus. And more, three Carmelite Discalced guided the Augustinians who came from San Cristóbal at the beginning of the discalced movement. At the end of four hundred years, new Carmelites come to continue the work of the Church in Alcoy.