Eleven members make their promises and two begin the probationary period at the Monastery of San José of the Augustinian Recollect Nuns
The city of Requena (Valencia) has been the setting for a significant event for the Augustinian Recollect family in Spain: the establishment of the Augustinian Recollect Secular Fraternity (FSAR) Saint Magdalene of Nagasaki, the first secular fraternity directly linked to a cloistered monastery of the Augustinian Recollect Nuns in the country.
The celebration took place at the Monastery of San José, with the participation of around 120 attendees. During the ceremony, eleven brothers made their promises as members of the fraternity and two began the probationary period, following a formation process that has lasted for almost three years.
The Eucharist was concelebrated by the prior general of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Fr. Miguel Ángel Hernández Domínguez, OAR, together with Fr. Antonio Antón, spiritual adviser of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino on the FSAR National Council in Spain, and Fr. Óscar Sierra, vicar of the parish of San Nicolás in Requena.
The community of Augustinian Recollect Nuns of the Monastery of San José, led by their prioress Sr. Rafaela Vallés, took an active part in the celebration. Also present was Sr. Pascualina Mutua, vice-prioress of the community and spiritual assistant of the fraternity, who has accompanied the formation process of the new members.
Three years of preparation and discernment
The birth of this fraternity has been the result of a long journey of discernment, accompaniment, and formation. As the prioress of the monastery, Sr. Rafaela Vallés, explains, the process began almost three years ago and was inspired and spiritually blessed by Bishop Azcona.
The initiative was driven especially by Sr. Pascualina Mutua, a religious sister of Kenyan origin, who personally invited various people interested in living the Augustinian Recollect charism as laypeople.
“For almost three years, we have been personally inviting people we know and preparing them with serious formation. Today we are very happy because they have responded generously,” explains Sr. Rafaela.
The group is made up of ten women and one man, mainly from Spain and Colombia, which also reflects the international character of the Augustinian Recollect family.
Members of other secular fraternities of the Order in Spain also attended the celebration, coming from Granada, Getafe, and Las Rozas (Madrid), as well as Maricela Vallés, president of the Secular Fraternity in Spain.
A mutual grace for nuns and laypeople
For the contemplative community, the experience of accompanying a secular fraternity is also a path of spiritual renewal.
Sr. Rafaela Vallés acknowledges that at the beginning there was some uncertainty about how the project would develop. However, as the months went by, the conviction grew that it was a true grace for the community.
“For us it has been a grace. Just as they receive a grace in their following, we too are opening ourselves more to the reality of people,” she states.
The prioress explains that this spiritual relationship with laypeople has enabled the contemplative community to come to know more closely the realities and difficulties of everyday life, thus broadening the horizon of their prayer and intercession.
“Now we see the concrete faces of the people for whom we pray. We know their lives, their difficulties, and that helps us to take on our mission of interceding for the world with greater responsibility,” she adds.
In this sense, the fraternity becomes a spiritual bridge between the cloister and everyday life, without altering the contemplative nature of the monastery, while enriching the experience of communion within the Augustinian Recollect Family.
A sign of hope for the Augustinian Recollect Family
The presence of the prior general of the Order underscored the importance of this event for the Augustinian Recollect Family. At the end of the celebration, Fr. Miguel Ángel Hernández Domínguez expressed his gratitude for the journey undertaken.
“Everyone’s faces were a gift; seeing them so happy was truly moving,” he said.
The new fraternity, dedicated to Saint Magdalene of Nagasaki, thus becomes a sign of vitality for the Augustinian Recollect charism in Spain and an example of spiritual collaboration between contemplative life and the laity within the same religious family.
Give me a drink: when God thirsts for us