The Prior General of the Order, Fr. Miguel Angel Hernandez, concluded last week his fraternal visit to the communities in Mexico and has begun his tour of the United States. During his last days in Mexico, the Prior General visited several communities, highlighting the good work in evangelization through the SINE method, particularly in neighborhoods such as Lomas de Queretaro, where the closeness of the Recollect friars has achieved a strong rooting of the Augustinian charism. “The people love the Recollect friars and there is great identification with the charism.” He also highlighted the fraternity and spirituality lived together with the Augustinian Recollect nuns, with whom he shared in eleven convents, describing these encounters as “a bath of Recollection and fraternity.”
“The people love the Recollect friars and there is great identification with the charism.”
The tour of the United States began on Thursday, October 17, in Los Angeles, where he visited the community of Saint Benedict in Montebello and celebrated the Eucharist with the students of the associated school. During the afternoon, he met with the local community and pastoral groups, strengthening the unity and service characteristic of the Order. “In Los Angeles, in addition to red carpets and celebrities, there are communities of friars who with simplicity and joy minister to the people who thirst for God,” noted Fr. Michelangelo.
“In Los Angeles, in addition to red carpets and celebrities, there are communities of friars who with simplicity and joy minister to the people who thirst for God.”
On Saturday, the Prior General visited the cemetery park where the Recollects rest, dedicating a moment to prayer in memory of those who served the Church. Then he went to the parish of Christ the King, where he met with the community, listening to testimonies of the pastoral work they do in the area of catechesis and social activities. The day concluded with the evening mass, where those present experienced a moment of peace and recollection.
The Prior’s visit will continue in the coming days to various communities in California, Texas, New Jersey and New York, bringing a message of fraternity, faith and service to every corner of the Order. On October 20, he will visit Mary Star Parish in Oxnard and St. Augustine Priory, followed by a trip to El Paso, Texas, on October 22-23, to visit the community of Anthony, New Mexico. He will then return to California to visit St. Ann’s parishes on October 27, 28 and 29, including Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of the Pillar. The next stop will take him to New Jersey, where he will visit St. Nicholas Monastery in Union City on Oct. 31, and then head to Sacred Heart Parish in Suffern, N.Y., on Nov. 1. Finally, on November 2, he will be with the Augustinian Recollect Nuns in Belvidere, New Jersey, culminating his visit in the United States on November 3.