The Province
The Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine is born with a strong missionary spirit, faithful dedication, and hope. Today, it serves with joy in Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, England, the United States, and China.
Origin
The Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine has been, from its beginnings, deeply missionary, marked by dedication, availability, and hope. It was created in the first general chapter, held in Madrid at the end of November 1621, and from the first moment acquired a peculiar profile. While the conventual aspect prevailed in the other provinces, a missionary spirit always reigned in it.
Since then, we have walked as a united family, faithful to the Augustinian Recollect charism and sustained by the same desire for evangelical radicalism.
Today, it continues to bring the Gospel wherever the Church needs it most, serving with joy and closeness in Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, England, the United States, and China, always with the Recollect spirit of interiority, fraternity, and service.
Our mission
Today we remain committed to the missionary mandate of Christ, announcing the Gospel and serving where the Church needs us most. Our work unfolds in the missions, accompanying communities that live in difficult realities; in education, forming people with human and Augustinian values; and in our parishes, walking alongside those who seek to grow in faith.
Throughout the centuries we have learned to respond to each challenge with strength and hope. Inspired by so many missionaries who gave their lives in the Philippines, Japan, America, or Africa, we remain convinced that the vitality of the Province is born from prayer, fraternity, and the ability to always renew ourselves from the Gospel.
Province Shield
Saint Nicholas of Tolentine
Structure
The provinces help the Order to organize itself better and to live its mission with greater unity. They are not buildings or borders, but religious who, from different places in the world, live and serve the people of God. Through them, the Augustinian Recollect family maintains the closeness, communion, and shared mission that unites us as a single body.
The Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine is a living expression of that universal mission. Its structure unfolds in two vicariates —Mexico-Costa Rica and the United States— and three delegations —Brazil, China, and England—, from where we accompany communities, sustain educational and evangelizing works, and serve with the spirit of Saint Augustine: with availability, fraternity, and a heart always open to the mission.
Prior Provincial
The Prior Provincial is a father, teacher, and brother to all the religious of the province. His service does not consist of commanding from above, but in walking first, guiding with humility, prudence, and love for the Order. The word prior—from the Latin prior, prius, “the first”—expresses just that: whoever goes ahead to serve and accompany.
The Prior Provincial presides over and animates the life of the entire province, assisted by his council. His mission is to promote unity, care for religious life, accompany each brother, and ensure the constant renewal of the province. The Constitutions indicate that he should be distinguished by his prudence, spiritual life, love for the Order, and his capacity to organize and serve with dedication.
During his service, the Prior Provincial listens to the brothers, discerns destinations and missions, promotes vocational ministry, and especially cares for initial and ongoing formation, as the future vitality of the province depends on it. He is also responsible for maintaining communion with the Order and with the Church, ensuring that the life of the province always reflects the Gospel that we proclaim.
Friar Carlos González Castellanos, Prior Provincial.
Friar Carlos González Castellanos was born in Capilla de Guadalupe, Jalisco, in 1964. He entered the Order at a very young age in the San Pío X Aspirancy of Querétaro and continued his formation in Mexico City, where he studied philosophy before beginning his novitiate in Monteagudo (Navarra). There he professed as an Augustinian Recollect in 1986, and later, in Marcilla, he made his solemn profession and was ordained a deacon and priest in 1989 and 1990, respectively.
After his ordination, he continued his studies in Rome, where he obtained a degree in Philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Over the years he has served the Order in multiple tasks: parochial vicar in Rome, formator in Mexico, university professor, prior and formator of the postulantate, and later Vicar of Mexico and Costa Rica. From 2015 to 2022 he was master of professed in the House of Formation of Las Rozas (Madrid), accompanying new generations of religious with closeness and dedication.
In 2022, the Augustinian Recollects elected him Prior Provincial of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, entrusting him with the mission of encouraging the life of the province and accompanying the friars on their path of service to the Gospel and the Church.
Provincial Curia
The Provincial Council is formed by the Prior Provincial and four councilors. Together they have the mission of animating and guiding the life of the province, faithfully applying the Constitutions and the decisions of the Provincial Chapter, always at the service of the common good.
The provincial councilors accompany the Prior Provincial and put the gifts that God has entrusted to them at the service of the province. They stand out for their prudence, spiritual life, and love for the Order. They not only help in government decisions, but also sustain the life of the communities, coordinate the provincial bodies, and collaborate in the organization of the mission.
Their work is supported by fraternal communion, dialogue, and co-responsibility, seeking that each house and each religious live the Augustinian Recollect charism with authenticity. Thus, the Provincial Council ensures the unity, formation, mission, and continuous renewal of the province, keeping it always faithful to the Gospel and to its identity.
Where are we?
The Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine is present in seven countries: Spain in Europe; Mexico, Costa Rica, the United States, Brazil, and China, along with the community of England. In each of these places, our Recollect mission announces, accompanies, and serves, bringing Christ—our hope and salvation—wherever the Church sends us.