The Province

The Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno is the youngest province of the Order of Augustinian Recollects. It was founded during the 52nd General Chapter held in Monachil, Granada, Spain, on November 28, 1998. Currently, it has 167 professed members assigned to 10 countries, serving in all the Order’s apostolates: Formation, Parish Ministry, Education, and Mission.

Origin

Our mission

The Province of Saint Ezekiel Moreno is deeply committed to evangelization and human development, serving the Church in parishes, schools, universities, social outreach programs, and formation houses. Wherever it is present—in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Sierra Leone—it accompanies communities, forms new generations, and supports projects that bring hope to the peripheries, always with closeness and in the Augustinian spirit.

Its history is rooted in more than three centuries of Recollect presence in the Philippines, where local vocations, formation houses, and an intense missionary life gradually grew, culminating in the establishment of the province in 1999. Since then, it has responded with resilience and renewal to educational, social, and pastoral challenges, keeping alive the conviction that the vitality of the mission is born from fidelity to the Gospel and constant inner renewal.

Coat of Arms of the Province of San Ezequiel Moreno

Structure

The provinces help the Order to organize itself better and to live its mission with greater unity. They are not buildings or structures, but the religious who, from different parts of the world, live and serve the people of God. Thanks to them, the Augustinian Recollect family maintains the closeness, communion, and shared mission that unites us as one body.

The Province of Saint Ezekiel Moreno is today a living and dynamic presence of the Recollection. It is present in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Sierra Leone, and Colombia, accompanying communities, forming new generations, and proclaiming the Gospel with hope.

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.

Fray Bernard Amparado, Prior Provincial.

Brother Bernard Cañada Amparado was born on February 4, 1962, in Minglanilla, Cebu City (Philippines). He entered religious life at a young age and made his simple profession on June 11, 1983, at the Recoletos Major Seminary in Baguio. He was ordained a priest on October 3, 1987, at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-Recoletos Parish in Cebu City.

Throughout his 38 years as a religious and 34 as a priest, he has served in numerous communities of the Order: at the University of Negros Occidental–Recoletos (Bacolod), at the Collegio Sant’Ildefonso e San Tommaso da Villanova (Rome), at the Casiciaco Recoletos Seminary (Baguio), and at the Recoletos Formation Center (Quezon City). He has served as a formator, philosophy professor, rector, and local prior, dedicating much of his life to accompanying young men in formation.

On May 17, 2022, during the Eighth Provincial Chapter held in Cebu City, he was elected Provincial Prior of the Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno, becoming its eighth prior. The Order trusts that, as Constitution 404 reminds us, he will be “the driving force for the renewal of the province,” guiding the friars toward a life ever more faithful to their consecration and mission in these challenging times.

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 Ezekiel Moreno is present in five countries: the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Sierra Leone, in addition to its more recent presence in Colombia. In each of these places, our Recollect mission proclaims and serves, bringing Christ, our salvation, wherever we are sent.