The religious advisors of the Augustinian Recollect Youth (JAR) of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova met from November 25 to 27, 2025, at the Provincial Curia in Rio de Janeiro, to evaluate the pastoral journey of recent years and advance in the preparation of the provincial report for the upcoming Provincial Chapter.
The meeting brought together the national advisory friars from Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Peru, and Venezuela, convened by the president of the Provincial Youth Secretariat, Fr. Fernando Ferreira, OAR . The main objective of the meeting was to analyze the current reality of youth accompaniment in the different vicariates and establish common criteria for the preparation of the pre-chapter report, which will be presented within the framework of the 38th Provincial Chapter, scheduled for July 2026.
Evaluate the journey and plan for the future
During the working days, the participants carried out a double evaluation. On the one hand, the personal and pastoral performance of the religious in charge of accompanying the young people was reviewed; on the other hand, the analysis guidelines were defined to collect in an orderly manner the lines of work, the challenges, and the proposals that will be submitted to the Provincial Chapter.
“We believe that it was a beautiful and necessary space for the growth and maturity of the team, in which we were able to hear the reality of each vicariate, along with its achievements and challenges”, said Fr. Fernando Ferreira at the end of the meeting.
The headquarters of the Provincial Curia was also the setting for a fraternal meeting with the Provincial Council, before which the advisors presented the path taken in recent years, the commitments made as a team, and the fruits of the joint work with the young people, especially in the areas of planning, organization, and co-responsibility.
A roadmap for youth accompaniment
One of the main results of the meeting was the elaboration of a “roadmap” for the future team of the Provincial Youth Secretariat. This document includes guidelines and instructions that seek to give continuity to the accompaniment of the Augustinian Recollect Youth, in line with the conclusions of the International Meeting of the JAR, held in January 2025 in Pilar (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
In this way, the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova reaffirms its commitment to an organic, coordinated, and constantly discerning youth ministry, which accompanies young people in their process of faith and in their path of belonging to the Augustinian-Recollect family.
The meeting in Rio de Janeiro is thus part of a broader process of listening, evaluation, and projection, which seeks to strengthen the evangelizing mission with young people and offer the next Provincial Chapter concrete elements for community discernment.
