On the 1st of November the Provincial Chapter of the Province of Colombia of the Order gathered in the Convent of El Desierto de la Candelaria (Ráquira, Boyacá). Under the presidency of the Prior General, Miguel Miró, gathered with him were other 22 religious: some for being members of the governing body during the last four years; the great majority, were elected as delegates by their own brothers of the Province. In his opening speech, Fr. General invited the participants “to have a broader perspective, as well as a sense of Province, Order and Church”. He pointed to the biggest problem of the Order: ‘the lack of strong belief in the vitality of our charism’. And he laid down as something necessary “the preparation of a plan of life and mission”.
After the greeting of the General, the informative phase begins, in which the outgoing governing body gives an account of the state of the Province and its progress in the last four years. Then a deliberative phase follows, in which the capitulars, distributed by commissions, will study the proposals received. And a third phase is set aside for the agreement on and approval of the proposals, thus setting up the plan of government of a team that the Chapter itself will elect. The election of the Prior Provincial for the next four years is scheduled around the 11th of November.
Young Religious
Inaugural Eucharist The borders of this Province of Our Lady of the Candles coincide in general with those of the Republic of Colombia. Of the 26 communities that form the Province, only three are outside, in Chile; and out of the total number of 113 religious, 103 live in Colombia.
It has a relatively young personnel, with an average age of 47 years. Nearly half of its religious (48) are engaged in parish work. Of these eight (and three ministries) are missionaries in the Apostolic Vicariate of Trinidad, Department of Casanare. Heading the Vicariate since the year 2000, is Monsignor Héctor Javier Pizarro Acevedo, one of the Augustinian Recollect bishops of Colombia; the other is Monsignor Jose Alejandro Castaño Arbeláez, who shepherds the Diocese of Cartago, Valle del Cauca.
Colleges and University
But perhaps what distinguishes the Colombian Augustinian Recollects is their work in the educational field. Seven are the colleges of secondary education that they run, with 10,000 students. To which must be added the Uniagustiniana, a university, which, started its journey five years ago with an enrolment of only 715; and at present it has almost 6,000 students. Very possibly it is the main challenge that the Province faces.
South American Reformation
Colombia is one of the two places where the reform of the Augustinians which is known in the history as the Recollection had taken place. The Augustinian Recollects had their origin in Spain in the year 1588; and, at the other side of the Atlantic, in what was then called Nueva Granada (New Granada), they appeared in 1604. Their first convent was located in the actual department of Boyacá, in the Desierto de la Candelaria (Ráquira).
The Augustinian Recollects preserve this convent today as a treasure, and it is here where they celebrate the most intimate communitarian acts. It is in El Desierto where the 79th Provincial Chapter of the Province of our Lady of the Candle is being celebrated now, since the 1st of November.