On February 18, the Order of Augustinian Recollects commemorates the eighth anniversary of its arrival in Cuba, a missionary presence marked from the outset by fraternity, creativity amid hardship, and a patient evangelization shaped by closeness and “small things.”
The anniversary is being marked by revisiting a video testimony from the first religious who formed the founding community: Friar Jairo Alberto Gordillo (Bogotá, Colombia, 1967), Friar Joel Naranja (Iloilo, Philippines, 1964–† 2021), Friar Ismael Xuruc (Totonicapán, Guatemala, 1981) and Friar Noé Servín (Guanajuato, Mexico, 1979).
In their words, a shared conviction emerges: the mission in Cuba is not understood in terms of spectacle, but of perseverance. There, evangelizing often means starting from what is essential, accompanying people, and sustaining faith through the community.
A breakdown on the road that became a parable
Friar Noé Servín recalls an anecdote from one of the first missionary journeys, when he was traveling with Friar Ismael Xuruc to a meeting in Holguín. The vehicle suffered an unexpected breakdown: the accelerator pedal snapped while they were driving.
The improvised solution was as simple as it was telling: tying a wire to the accelerator and driving by coordinating between the two of them, while one drove and the other accelerated from the window. What could have remained a curious story ended up becoming a defining image of the mission: “making teamwork truly work,” explains Friar Noé, convinced that the path of evangelization in Cuba can only be sustained through communion.
Community life, the first proclamation
Friar Ismael Xuruc emphasizes that what he values most about this experience is precisely fraternal life: “the community life we are living” and the shared work, also in collaboration with other congregations present on the island.
Along the same lines, Friar Julián Vallejos insists that proclaiming the Gospel is born of the communal “we”: “If I am going to evangelize, I do not go alone… I go in the name of my community.” In Cuba, missionary identity is not understood as an individual adventure, but as an ecclesial and fraternal sending.
Evangelizing from scratch: patience, humility, and hope
The Cuban context calls for a very specific pastoral approach. Friar Julián recalls that many times the task is not only to celebrate the Eucharist or visit remote communities, but to start from the very basics, even teaching how to make the sign of the cross.
Friar Noé expresses it with a profound spiritual key: in Cuba, evangelizing involves “rethinking many times” and “starting over.” But far from seeing it as a defeat, he interprets it as an opportunity: “Starting over is not a tragedy,” he says, because it allows one to correct, purify intentions, and grow in authenticity.
The mission of small things
In one of the most meaningful excerpts of the testimony, Friar Ismael sums up the heart of the mission with a series of simple verbs: “to be present, to be with people, to share our joy, to accompany one another.” He acknowledges that perhaps no great visible works are carried out, but something essential is built: a Church that is close, sustained by hope.
Friar Joel Naranja, who died in Cuba in 2021 due to COVID-19, also appears in the video as a prophetic and endearing voice. In his message, he insists on the desire that the missionaries become part of family life, live with openness, and embody the spirit of the Order among the people.
Eight years of presence and gratitude
Eight years after that arrival, the Augustinian Recollects renew their gratitude for this mission and for the Cuban people, who have welcomed the religious with affection and patience. The memory of the beginnings—marked by hardship, fraternity, and ingenuity—remains today a school of spirituality.
In Cuba, the Augustinian Recollects have learned that evangelization is sustained more by daily faithfulness than by immediate results; more by community than by individual strength; more by closeness than by structure.
And that, even when everything seems to come to a halt, it is always possible to keep moving forward… even if only with a wire in hand.
