The visit of the Prior General of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Friar Miguel Ángel Hernández, to the communities in Brazil has begun with an intense first week marked by closeness, dialogue, and the recognition of a dynamic and committed ecclesial life.
In the opening days of his journey, the Prior General visited various presences in the state of São Paulo, where he was able to see firsthand the pastoral, social, and formative reality of the Recollect communities in this key country for the Order.
One community, two parishes in the heart of São Paulo
The first stage of the visit took place in the Saúde neighborhood in the city of São Paulo, where a religious community resides that serves two parishes with distinct and complementary profiles.
“This week we visited Saúde in the city of São Paulo. There we serve two parishes, although we have a single community: the Parish of Saúde, where the community resides, and the Parish of Santo Ivo,” explained the Prior General.
Friar Miguel Ángel Hernández underscored the pastoral richness of both realities: “The Parish of Santo Ivo is a sacramental parish, and the Parish of Saúde is a parish with a great deal of life, a great deal of activity.”
During his stay, the Prior General met with the different groups that make up the Augustinian Recollect Family in the area: the lay fraternity, the Mothers of Monica, and other pastoral workers, as well as the Parish Pastoral Council.
Solid formation and social commitment
One of the most significant aspects of the visit was contact with the social and formative dimension of the Parish of Nossa Senhora da Saúde, which combines an intense community life with concrete initiatives of solidarity.
The Prior General visited the parish social outreach, which currently supports more than 130 families through the distribution of basic food baskets, a concrete expression of evangelical commitment to those most in need. Alongside this charitable action, the firm commitment to the formation of the laity also stands out.
“They have a very strong theology course, a program planned for three years, and every Tuesday they have a two-hour session… and after already two years, more than a hundred people are still taking part,” he noted.
This fact demonstrates not only the quality of the formation program, but also the faithful’s hunger for theological formation and their involvement in the life of the Church, in keeping with the Augustinian Recollect charism of interiority, communion, and service.
Large celebration in Ribeirão Preto
The visit continued in Ribeirão Preto, where the Recollect community serves a parish dedicated to Saint Joseph. There, the Prior General took part in the celebration of the patron saint’s feast day, in an atmosphere of deep popular devotion.
“I took part in the feast of Saint Joseph. The church was full, packed, with people outside,” he recounted, highlighting the large turnout of the faithful and the vitality of the local Christian community.
In addition to the liturgical celebration, the Prior General held meetings with the fraternity and the Parish Pastoral Council, following the usual pattern of the Order’s pastoral visits.
A visit structured in a spirit of communion
As is traditional in this type of encounter, the pastoral visit is organized around three fundamental moments: opening, meeting with the community, and closing. This itinerary allows for a comprehensive understanding of the local reality, fostering fraternal dialogue, pastoral evaluation, and future planning.
“You already know the three moments of the visit: the opening, the community meeting, and the closing,” the Prior General recalled.
These spaces not only serve to review how the communities are doing, but also to strengthen charismatic identity and communion within the Order, in a culturally and ecclesially diverse context such as Brazil.
A living Church, outward-looking and with a lay face
The assessment of this first week of the Prior General’s visit to Brazil reflects a living Church, outward-looking and deeply rooted in its social context.
The combination of sacramental celebration, solid theological formation, and concrete social commitment defines the profile of these Augustinian Recollect communities, where the role of the laity is especially significant.
High participation in formation courses, involvement in pastoral councils, and a charitable response to the needs of the most vulnerable families show a Church that not only transmits the faith, but also embodies it in everyday life.
In this context, the Prior General’s visit becomes a sign of communion and accompaniment, encouraging the communities to continue growing in fidelity to the Gospel and to the charism of the Order of Augustinian Recollects in Brazil.
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