“Troubadour of Christ” is the main title of the new work we are publishing today in the Documents section of AgustinosRecoletos.org , the official website of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Order of Augustinian Recollects.
This is a selection of 58 poems by Blessed Julián Benigno Moreno (1871-1936), Augustinian Recollect, poet, martyr and nephew of another saint, the also Augustinian Recollect Ezequiel Moreno.
The selection of poems, the prologue, the editing, the annotations, the biography, and the formal stylistic study of the poems are the work of Marciano Santervás (Izagre, León, Spain, 1947), an Augustinian Recollect. There is also a general presentation written by Enrique Eguiarte, also an Augustinian Recollect.
“Troubadour of Christ” is how Friar Julián Benigno Moreno Moreno introduces himself in one of his poems. Best known for his role as a martyr, which earned him beatification in 1999 along with his entire Recollect community in Motril (Granada, Spain), and for being the nephew of Saint Ezekiel Moreno, Julián was a lover of the pen and a keen observer.
However, this true treasure has until now been inaccessible to the general public. The published poems were distributed in internal periodicals of his Order, and even in issues dating back decades.
The editor intends to make the poet and his work known and, logically, hopes that the reader will savor and enjoy the beauty of these literary creations and become immersed in the atmosphere of Augustinian-Recollect spirituality.
Julian‘s status as a religious and Augustinian Recollect priest allows us to better understand his literary production and the themes chosen, to the point that all his work can be classified as religious poetry.
The three parts of the book are complementary. The first is a biographical sketch of Brother Julian, whose turbulent life was marked by travels and various residences, until he ended his life shot at the dawn of the Spanish Civil War.
The second part consists of a brief literary and linguistic study of the poems included in the publication, whose reading is attempted to be facilitated by a thematic grouping, above other criteria such as chronology.
The third and longest part offers the 58 poems, faithful to the text of the manuscripts. There are many more poems by Friar Julian, who wrote more than 20,000 verses, but this sample of almost 3,000 is sufficient to achieve the stated objective.
Brother Julián also wrote many prose articles on a variety of topics, especially religious ones, published in contemporary magazines and newspapers; despite their excellent quality, they are left out in this book.
As a writer and poet, Blessed Julian is little known, even within the Augustinian Recollect Family itself. The editor hopes that “this publication will help bring him out of the darkness of ignorance. It is sad that a treasure remains hidden from the eyes of the vast majority. A buried treasure must be brought to light so that it can be admired and enjoyed.”
