All religious families share common elements, but they also have some that are unique to them, based on centuries of history, countless testimonies of dedicated life and experiences that have marked each charism. In the case of the Augustinian Recollect family, mission is that element that shapes its DNA in an inalienable way.
During the month of October we join the Church, which remembers the missions in a special way. For us, it will also be an opportunity to deepen our missionary identity, and to recover the witness of so many religious men and women who, yesterday and today, have been and are living witnesses of the mission.
Just a few years after the birth of the Augustinian Recollects in 1588, mission became a necessity for the friars of this new Augustinian way of life. In fact, in 1605, at the age of 17, the first missionaries already left for the Philippines.
The mission lands will be the ideal space for simple evangelization, the sowing of the Word of God and the cultivation of the sacraments of the Church. It will also become the context in which the religious will reaffirm their missionary vocation of dedication, proclamation and witness.
Today, the Order is present in eleven mission territories in nine countries and three continents. We are missionaries in China, Colombia, Brazil, Taiwan, Panama, Peru, Sierra Leone, Mariana Islands, Cuba and Indonesia. More than 70 religious dedicate their lives to these mission stations.
During this missionary month we want to share the beauty and charismatic richness of our missions, how the religious live, where they are and remember the testimonies of brothers who have given their lives in them.
We invite you to follow this missionary month on our website and social networks with the hashtag #MesMisioneroAR.