The feast of Saint Magdalene of Nagasaki marks a new milestone for the Augustinian Recollect family: the Prior General signs the decree approving ad experimentum the new General Statutes of the Augustinian-Recollect Secular Fraternity, giving way to a year of study, reflection and community renewal.
A feast for the entire Augustinian Recollect family
Every October 20, the Augustinian Recollect family celebrates Saint Magdalene of Nagasaki, a Japanese martyr and patron saint of the Augustinian-Recollect Secular Fraternity. Her laical life, given to the extreme, is a model and guide for all those who wish to live the Augustinian charism in the midst of the world. This year, the celebration is accompanied by long-awaited news: the official promulgation of the new Statutes of the Secular Fraternity, after a long process of synodal work.
The new General Statutes of the Secular Fraternity are promulgated
The Prior General, Friar Miguel Ángel Hernández, signed on October 18 in Monachil (Spain) the Prot. decree 122/2025, by which the new General Statutes of the Augustinian-Recollect Secular Fraternity are approved ad experimentum for one year. This decision was made after the review and approval of the General Council in ordinary session held on October 16, 2025.
A circular to listen to the heartbeat of the charism
The promulgation of the Statutes is accompanied by a circular signed by the Prior General on the occasion of the feast of Saint Magdalene. In it, Friar Miguel Ángel not only communicates the legal news, but also offers a deeply inspiring spiritual and vocational reflection.
The text reflects the desire that each member of the fraternity rediscover their laical vocation as a path to holiness in the world.
“The important thing is not to have a document —he affirms—, but that this document be the occasion for a profound experience of God, of community, of shared mission.”
He invites us to live this time as a path of communion and renewal, affirming that the Statutes “are not only a set of rules; they are, above all, a proposal for life.” In them is condensed an incarnate spirituality, centered on the search for God, fraternal life, ecclesial service and commitment to the poorest.
The Prior General concludes by recalling the testimony of Saint Magdalene of Nagasaki, whose firm faith and silent martyrdom continue to be a beacon for all lay men and women who feel part of the great Augustinian Recollect family.
An invitation to live in mission
The promulgation of these Statutes takes place in the preparatory context of the Augustinian-Recollect Missionary Year 2026, whose motto will be: “Announce Christ wherever you can”, in the words of Saint Augustine. For the Prior General, this time should be lived as a kairós, an opportunity to renew evangelizing enthusiasm from daily life: “The mission is not reduced to distant territories. The first mission is in the heart of each one.”
In this framework, the Prior General invites each fraternity to welcome the new Statutes as a seed:
“Take care of it, make it germinate. May the Statutes be an opportunity to deepen identity, strengthen communion, renew enthusiasm and, above all, revive the missionary awareness that Saint Magdalene lived to the extreme.”
