The Mission Secretariat of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, in collaboration with the EDUCAR Network, organized two virtual meetings on March 23 and 25, bringing together students from schools in Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Spain, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, Guatemala, and the United States.
A global meeting to proclaim Christ
The initiative, part of the Augustinian Recollect Missionary Year, allowed hundreds of young people to speak directly with active missionaries, gaining insight into the concrete reality of the mission in different contexts around the world.
These were not classes; the meetings became a living space for listening, questions, and testimony, where students participated actively, raising concerns about vocation, the meaning of the mission, and the challenges of evangelization today.
Three missionaries, one same devotion
The meetings featured the testimony of three religious brothers with extensive missionary experience:
- Friar José Estebas, a missionary in Chota (Peru), with decades of service in the Andes.
- Friar Ismael Xuruc, general counselor and one of the founders of the mission in Cuba.
- Friar José Manuel Fernández (“Espiri”), a missionary in Marajó (Brazil).
In the second meeting, Francinete Souza, a teacher at Santa Mónica de Breves School, and postulants Igor and Gabriel also joined, offering their vocational perspective from their missionary experience.
Each one, from their specific reality, showed the diverse face of the mission: from Amazonian communities accessible only by river to the Andean mountains or the complex social and economic situation in Cuba.
The mission that heals and transforms
One of the most significant testimonies was that of Friar José Manuel Fernández, who shared how the mission transforms not only those who receive it but also those who live it:
“Here I was cured of all those illnesses… they say I am the friar of joy.”
His experience in Marajó, marked by contact with suffering and poverty—“the problem of hunger… is also real”—became a path of personal healing and devotion to others.
For his part, Friar Ismael Xuruc highlighted the profound learning experienced in Cuba, where scarcity becomes a school of life:
“I had to learn to take what God had given me… and give it.”
The mission, he explained, taught him to live with the essentials, to value simplicity, and to discover God amidst human fragility.
A life devoted with radicality
From the Peruvian Andes, Friar José Estebas offered the testimony of a life completely dedicated to the mission, marked by closeness to the communities and an integral commitment:
“Being able to do good for others… is something wonderful.”
His experience shows a mission that not only evangelizes but also promotes human development: clean water projects, community accompaniment, and support for the most vulnerable, in collaboration with initiatives such as ARCORES.
Listening, loving, and accompanying: keys to the mission
One of the most recurring themes in the dialogue with the students was how to gain trust in diverse cultural contexts.
The answers coincided on an essential key: authenticity.
“First is listening, not speaking… crying with them,” explained José Manuel.
“Being authentic,” added Ismael.
“Giving everything we are,” emphasized José Estebas.
The mission, far from being imposed, is built from closeness, respect, and concrete love for people.
Youth as protagonists of the mission
The students were not spectators but protagonists. Their questions addressed profound issues: the meaning of vocation, fear of commitment, living with other cultures, or the difficulties of the mission.
This generational dialogue showed that missionary concern remains alive in young people and that they need real spaces for encounter and testimony.
The missionaries encouraged them to start from their own reality:
“Be missionaries in your own lives,”
“Do not be afraid,”
“You are the face of Christ.”
An open invitation to vocation
The meeting concluded with a clear call: the mission is not just for some, but an open possibility for everyone.
Being a missionary does not necessarily begin in distant lands, but in everyday life: in the family, at school, in daily relationships.
The experience shared by these religious brothers left a certainty: the mission, lived from faith and devotion, is not a burden but a deep source of joy.
