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Order of Augustinian Recollects

Mendicant Catholic religious order of friars and nuns

  • 12 min read
  • 6 chapters

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History

The Recollects reflect a reform movement of the Augustinians begun in Spain in the 16th century. Thomas of Andrada was an Augustinian who belonged to one of the most illustrious houses of Portugal. He joined the Order of Saint Augustine at the age of fifteen. His efforts at reform met resistance, but after his death the regulations he had proposed were later adopted by those who formed the Discalced branch.

In 1561, Luis de León O.S.A., chair of theology at Salamanca undertook a revision of the constitutions of the order; in 1588 the first Augustinian community of the Spanish Regular Observance was established at Talavera. The reform emphasized fidelity to the Rule of St. Augustine. The reformers placed special emphasis on community prayer and simplicity of life. In 1592, Andrés Díaz introduced the reform congregation to Italy, first in Naples, then in Rome. As more houses were established, the Discalced members came to constitute a separate province of the Augustinian friars.

In 1606 Philip III of Spain sent some Discalced friars to the missions in the Philippines. In 1622 Pope Gregory XV authorized the erection of a separate congregation for the Recollect Augustinians, with its own vicar-general. The first Recollects reached Japan, by way of the Philippines in 1623. In 1626 a house was founded at Prague and in 1631 at Vienna.

In the 19th century, the Order was persecuted by Revolutionary governments in Spain and Colombia; so the sacking and pillaging of Recollect possessions continued; later the Communists destroyed many others. While many Recollect properties were destroyed, a few such as the Monastery of Monteagudo, Navarre, were spared.

The Recollects were formally recognized as a separate Mendicant Order in 1912, the last to be so designated.

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