Press Release | The Augustinian Recollects bid farewell to Sos del Rey Católico after more than a century of presence in Valentuñana

Madrid, January 14, AD 2026.

The Order of Augustinian Recollects will bid farewell this Sunday, January 18, to Sos del Rey Católico, bringing to an end more than 120 years of uninterrupted presence in the Convent of Our Lady of Valentuñana. The farewell will be experienced as an act of gratitude and shared memory with the town and the region, after a prolonged history of pastoral, educational and missionary service.

At 12:00 noon a farewell Eucharist will be celebrated, presided over by D. Pedro Aguado, Bishop of Jaca, and concelebrated by the Prior General of the Order, Friar Miguel Ángel Hernández, the Prior Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of Candelaria, Friar David Niño, and Cardinal José Luis Lacunza, with the presence of the Municipal Corporation and institutional representatives.

A convent with centuries of history

The Valentuñana convent, located on the outskirts of the historic center of Sos del Rey Católico, was not originally founded by the Augustinian Recollects. As documented by the Order’s historian, Friar Ángel Martínez Cuesta, in the third volume of the History of the Augustinian Recollects, the building was erected between 1718 and 1732 by the Discalced Carmelites, for the purpose of conventual life.

After the confiscation of the 19th century, the property passed to the Bishopric of Jaca, which offered it to the Augustinian Recollects at the beginning of the 20th century, at a time when several religious were returning from the Philippines and were looking for new apostolic destinations in Spain.

From mission house to apostolic school

Before becoming an apostolic school, Valentuñana was for a few years a mission house, from which the religious promoted parish and rural missions, especially in areas of the Pyrenees and localities with less pastoral care.

Later, the convent hosted the apostolic school, a decisive stage in the history of the Province and of the Order itself, which marked generations of young people and religious. After the closure of the school, the community continued to be linked to the pastoral and spiritual care of the environment.

A presence always close to the people

Although the Augustinian Recollects were never parish priests of Sos del Rey Católico, their presence was always deeply linked to the life of the town and the nearby villages. For decades they pastorally attended to localities such as Navardún, Lorbés, Castiliscar and other towns in the region, providing a discreet and constant service to the rural communities.

A closure that is also gratitude

The handing over of the convent, scheduled for January 18, marks the end of a significant stage in the religious and social history of Sos del Rey Católico. The Order of Augustinian Recollects expresses its sincere gratitude to the diocese, to the local authorities and, especially, to the people of Sos, for the welcome and affection received during more than a century.

The spiritual, educational and human legacy of Valentuñana remains as an inseparable part of the living memory of the town.

Communication Office | Order of Augustinian Recollects

📧 comunicacion@oar.it

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