The Augustinian Recollect friar delves into the value of accompaniment from an Augustinian perspective as a path toward truth and salvation
Fray José Manuel González Durán defended his doctoral thesis titled “Bonus demonstrator. Augustine of Hippo as a spiritual companion through his letters” at Comillas Pontifical University, in an academic ceremony that brought together nearly fifty attendees among religious, professors, and family members.
The research, supervised by Professors Doctor D. Pedro Rodríguez Panizo and Fray Enrique Alejandro Eguiarte, offers a profound reflection on spiritual accompaniment from the experience and thought of Saint Augustine.
Accompaniment oriented toward salvation
The ceremony began with words inspired by Saint Augustine from the prior of the San José community, seat of the General Curia in Madrid: “Whoever greets, desires health” (Saint Augustine, Sermon 101). In his presentation, the doctoral candidate emphasized that “the raison d’être of accompaniment is salvation”, highlighting that, from an Augustinian perspective, to accompany is to help the person encounter Christ, who is the Truth.
Fray José Manuel presented Saint Augustine not as a theoretician of accompaniment, but as someone who accompanies from within, from the believing experience. A shepherd who walks with others, who seeks the truth alongside them and who always refers back to God, origin and goal of every process. In his letters appears an Augustine who is involved, close, aware that accompanying is not directing from without, but helping to discover Christ along the way.
In a cultural context marked by the relativization of truth, the Augustinian Recollect insisted on the urgency of reinstating accompaniment as a space for communion in charity.
“We live in an era of complacency with falsehood,” he stated, “which is why we are called to be heralds of truth with the people we accompany.”
Academic Contribution and Pastoral Relevance
The thesis, which exceeds 500 pages and includes more than 1,500 citations, concludes that Saint Augustine can be considered an authentic spiritual companion. It is not about establishing comparisons with other saints, but about demonstrating the existence and consistency of this model in the Doctor of Grace.
During the round of interventions, Professor María Jesús Fernández Cordero congratulated the doctoral candidate, highlighting “the work, time, and reflection” evident in the research. For his part, Fray Bruno D’Andrea positively assessed the process and the final result of the work.
Father Eduard López Ortelano, SJ, recalled that a doctoral defense is not the end, but a moment of dialogue, characteristic of the university environment. In the same vein, Fray Manuel Sánchez Tapia, OSA, recalled his own defense in that same space fourteen years ago and emphasized the solidity of the thesis and its contribution to the understanding of Augustinian Christology.
Finally, Fray Fernando Millán, OCD, highlighted the methodological consistency of the work, which follows the classic steps of thesis, hypothesis, synthesis, and results, and acknowledged that reading it led him to delve deeper and continue researching.
After the interventions, Fray José Manuel thanked God, his superiors—for their trust—his community, the Pontifical University Comillas, and his doctoral colleagues. He also dedicated the work to his parents and to all the people with whom he has shared his journey, both accompanying and being accompanied.
The thesis is presented as a significant contribution to the pastoral life of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, especially at a time when accompaniment will be a central axis of the next pastoral year. In this sense, the work invites a review of the responsibility and manner of accompaniment within the Augustinian Recollect Family.
Formation and Academic Collaboration
This academic context once again highlights the solid and fruitful relationship between the Order of Augustinian Recollects and the Society of Jesus in the field of formation. For years, the Order has entrusted Jesuit institutions with the preparation of its simple professed members in Spain: the Pontifical University Comillas welcomes religious from the provinces of San Nicolás de Tolentino and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, while Loyola Andalucía University trains those from the Province of Santo Tomás de Villanueva.
Furthermore, two Augustinian Recollects are part of the teaching staff at the latter: Fray Bruno D’Andrea and Fray Enrique Gómez, a concrete sign of a collaboration that is already a shared path.
Institutional Presence and Ecclesial Communion
The event was attended by the Prior Provincial of the Province of San Nicolás de Tolentino, Fray Carlos González Castellanos, as well as the vicars of Spain for the provinces of Santo Tomás de Villanueva, Fray José María Sánchez, and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Fray Lorenzo Pérez. Fray José Manuel’s parents and sister were also present. Friars from different communities in Madrid, representatives of the Augustinian Recollect Missionaries, the Secular Augustinian Recollect Fraternity, Arcores Internacional, and members of the Order of Saint Augustine also participated.
