Since September 15, 2024, the Prior General, Friar Miguel Ángel Hernández, has been visiting the religious communities of Mexico as part of his pastoral tour of North America.
Miguel Angel Hernandez, is visiting the religious communities of Mexico, as part of his pastoral tour of North America, which will last until mid-November. As he himself explained before beginning the trip, the purpose of this visit is to get to know closely the reality of the Augustinian Recollect communities, both religious and lay, as well as the challenges and projects they face in their pastoral mission.
The day of his arrival coincided with the celebration of the Grito de Independencia, one of the most important festivities in Mexico, which commemorates the call to fight for the country’s independence in 1810.
That night, Fr.
Miguel Ángel joined the celebrations at the Postulantado San Agustín, popularly known as El Hueso -because it is the name of the street where it is located-, a formation house located in the south of Mexico City, in the Jardines del Pedregal neighborhood.
In this place, the young men who are preparing to enter the Order live their first stage of formation.
The following day, on September 16, in Mexico City, Friar Miguel Angel met with the friars in charge of the parishes of Lourdes and Częstochowa.
Miguel Angel met with the friars in charge of the parishes of Lourdes and Częstochowa, and discussed the pastoral challenges and opportunities for the communities.
In the afternoon, the Prior met with the lay and Secular Fraternity groups, and during the conversation stressed the importance of working together for spiritual and apostolic growth.
On September 18, Fr.
Miguel Angel presided at the opening Eucharist of the VII Federal Assembly of the Augustinian Recollect Nuns of Mexico in Puebla, where he stressed the importance of trust in God in times of uncertainty: It is normal that fear assaults us, that uncertainty knocks at our door; fear because it seems that we are few, fear because we are getting older or because we do not see a clear path.
But those fears can never speak louder than our trust in the Lord.
He is with us always . During the homily, he also called on the community to be courageous and not to resist the Holy Spirit: Dare to break with the old patterns.
God makes all things new every day.
“Those fears can never speak louder than our trust in the Lord. He is with us always (…) Dare to break with the old patterns. God makes all things new every day”.
She also stressed the need to be humble and open to dialogue, and recalled that the Assembly is a space to discern together what is best for the Order and to put aside personal interests: We are not here to defend anything.
It is not a championship of ideas, but an act of faith in which we all want to listen to the Voice of God and work for the common good of the Federation and the Order.
Throughout the week, Fr.
Miguel Angel also visited various communities of nuns in Tlaxcala and Cuauhtinchan, and shared different moments of dialogue and prayer with them.
On Thursday 19, during the day at the Postulancy of St. Augustine, they celebrated the feast of St. Alonso de Orozco, and it was an opportunity to reflect on how community life is a fundamental pillar of Augustinian spirituality.
To close this first week, on Friday Friar Miguel Angel met with the formation community and the postulants, who shared with him their concerns and experiences.
Miguel Angel met with the formation community and the postulants, who shared with him their concerns and experiences and, on Saturday, the role of the laity in the Church was discussed in depth with the members of the Secular Fraternity.
This tour, which began in Tecamachalco, will continue to other Mexican cities, such as Chihuahua, Querétaro and Puebla, with the objective of continuing to meet and accompany the religious and lay communities of the country before continuing his tour to the United States in November.
