To mark World Cancer Day, which is celebrated every February 4, the Augustinian Recollects join in the global awareness of one of the diseases that causes the most suffering in our time. From the Christian faith and the legacy of Saint Ezekiel Moreno—an Augustinian Recollect friar, bishop, and patron saint of cancer patients—the Order proposes three prayer initiatives to spiritually accompany those who suffer from this disease and their families.
Cancer, a reality that challenges all of humanity
Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2022, nearly 20 million new cases and 9.7 million deaths were recorded, and projections indicate that this figure could reach 33 million new annual diagnoses in 2050, due to the aging of the population and the persistence of avoidable risk factors.
The most diagnosed types of cancer are lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate. Although the incidence is higher in countries with higher life expectancy, mortality is a global challenge. In the European Union, for example, cancer is already the second leading cause of death, and nearly 44% of deaths are related to preventable factors such as tobacco, alcohol, an unhealthy diet, or a sedentary lifestyle.
Faced with this reality, the Church is called not only to promote prevention and awareness, but also to accompany with closeness, faith, and hope those who are going through the disease.
Saint Ezekiel Moreno: a life of dedication, a hope for the sick
Saint Ezekiel Moreno (1848-1906) is one of the most significant figures in the recent history of the Order of Augustinian Recollects. His life was a faithful and constant response to God’s call, lived from the mission, pastoral dedication, and a deep communion with the Church.
Born in Alfaro (La Rioja, Spain), into a simple and deeply believing family, he entered the Order at a very young age. Ordained a priest in the Philippines in 1871, he developed an intense missionary life there in contexts marked by poverty, geographic dispersion, and precarious means. Those years forged his identity as a close, constant, and deeply committed pastor to the poorest and sickest.
After his time training new religious in Monteagudo, he responded to a new and decisive missionary call: the restoration of the Augustinian-Recollect presence in Colombia. There he played a key role in the reorganization of the Order and in the revitalization of the missions, especially in Casanare, the country’s first apostolic vicariate.
Appointed Bishop of Pasto in 1896, he exercised his ministry with fidelity to the Church’s magisterium, doctrinal clarity, and a deep closeness to his people. His austere life, his firm word, and his concrete charity made him a respected pastor inside and outside his diocese.
Augustinian Recollect friar, man of prayer and community
Before being a bishop, Saint Ezekiel was, first and foremost, an Augustinian Recollect friar. He deeply loved religious life, community, prayer, and the traditions of the Order. He lived the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience with evangelical radicalism, convinced that without a solid interior life there is no authentic apostolate.
He was a man of intense prayer, faithful to the Eucharist and the Divine Office, with a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. He knew how to unite contemplation and action, interior life and pastoral commitment. From this Augustinian root sprang his missionary strength and his ability to accompany, form, and sustain others.
Learn more about the life of Saint Ezekiel Moreno
Illness, dedication, and trust until the end
In the last years of his life, Saint Ezekiel faced a painful and devastating cancer. He did not abandon his mission or his trust in God. He accepted suffering with serenity, without complaint, offering each pain as a last silent preaching.
His illness was his last mission: to teach how to believe when nothing more can be done than to love and trust. He died on August 19, 1906, in the monastery of Monteagudo (Navarra), where his remains now rest, leaving the Church a luminous testimony of faith lived to the extreme.
Three prayer initiatives to accompany those who suffer from cancer
Inspired by his life and legacy, the Augustinian Recollects propose on this World Cancer Day three concrete prayer initiatives, open to all.
Novena to Saint Ezekiel Moreno by email
A novena that arrives free of charge every day to your email, with brief texts of prayer and reflection to entrust your own intentions and learn to trust as he trusted.
Receive the novena of Saint Ezekiel Moreno
Saint Ezekiel continues to accompany today those who seek comfort, strength, and hope. We invite you to receive the novena of Saint Ezekiel Moreno free of charge by email, a simple prayer proposal to entrust your own intentions to God and learn to trust as he trusted.
Saint Ezekiel Moreno Prayer Network
Initiative born more than ten years ago in the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, which puts people suffering from cancer in contact with cloistered nuns who pray constantly and discreetly for each intention received, creating a true network of spiritual communion.
Saint Ezekiel Moreno Prayer Center
The Augustinian Recollects, as custodians of the spiritual legacy of Saint Ezekiel Moreno, want to keep alive his sensitivity towards those who suffer, especially cancer patients. The Saint Ezekiel Moreno Prayer Center is a space of intercession and hope. By sending your prayer intention through the form, it will be entrusted directly to one of the monasteries of Augustinian Recollect Nuns, where the nuns will pray specifically for your request. We pray especially for those who are going through illness, for their families, and for those who accompany them, following the compassionate heart of Saint Ezekiel.
Novena to Saint Ezekiel Moreno in collaboration with Hallow
In collaboration with Hallow, the largest digital prayer platform in the world, more than 5,000 people are already praying the novena of Saint Ezekiel Moreno, uniting Christian spirituality and digital evangelization at the service of comfort and hope.
Pray the novena with Saint Ezekiel
on Hallow
You can also pray the novena of Saint Ezekiel Moreno through the Hallow application, joining thousands of people who find in prayer a path of comfort and strength.
A living legacy that continues to give hope
Monteagudo is not only the place where the remains of Saint Ezekiel Moreno rest, but a space of living memory and spirituality. Every year, numerous faithful pilgrims travel there to pray, give thanks, and renew their faith. From there, Saint Ezekiel continues to invite us to live an incarnate, courageous, and missionary faith.
On World Cancer Day, the Augustinian Recollects renew their commitment to not leave those who suffer alone, convinced that shared prayer remains a profound sign of Christian hope.
