History of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Order of the Augustinian Recollects.

1. The Province

For several lustrums, the Recollects in the Philippines depended on the single Province that encompassed the entire Augustinian Recollection.

Sometimes they elected their own superiors; at other times, these were imposed on them from Spain. The distance and the lifestyle, which was very different, soon highlighted the need for greater autonomy.

An initial attempt was made in 1610, but actual autonomy was not achieved until 5 June 1621, when Pope Gregory XV elevated the Recollection to the rank of Congregation with the ability to be divided into Provinces.

The general chapter was immediately convened and assembled in Madrid from 19 to 30 November. In the chapter, a Vicar General was elected, and on 23 November 1621, the Congregation was divided into four Provinces. One of them grouped together all the religious and ministries in the Philippines.

The news took a long time to reach the Far East. Its own chapter did not take place until early February 1624. There, the Province was established and sought the patronage of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine. The second chapter was held in May 1626. Thereafter, the rest of the chapters were regularly celebrated every three years.

For over three centuries, the Province of Saint Nicholas had a unique character within the Order. While in the rest of the Provinces, the conventual and contemplative aspect prevailed, in the Province of Saint Nicholas, the missionary and apostolic spirit reigned at all times.

Throughout history, the Philippine missions contributed to defining and perfecting the charism of the Order, which adapted the model of Saint Augustine, who did not want his monks to withdraw into themselves but to be open to the needs of the Church. They further strengthened their unity since it was the common endeavour of the religious, the majority of whom volunteered from the three Provinces in Spain. And finally, they set the pattern that all Recollect apostolate should follow when it combined their missionary task with their interior and communal life in an admirable manner.

Nevertheless, circumstances often kept them very detached from the life of the Congregation. The directives reached the Philippines very late, and their religious were not able to participate in the overall administration or attend the chapters of the Congregation. While the missionaries maintained their primitive fervour, the absence of communication had no significant negative effects. However, as it cooled, it fostered indiscipline and eroded the religious identity of many religious.

2. The Expansion Towards the South

Between 1622 and 1623, the Province significantly expanded their missionary horizon. The reinforcements that arrived from Spain in 1518 and the vocations in the novitiate of Manila made it possible to open new fields of apostolic work.

A) Mindanao

On 6 February 1624, the governor general, the highest authority in the Philippines, divided the vast island of Mindanao into two large divisions. The northeastern regions were assigned to the Recollects; the Jesuits were put in charge of the rest.

As would later happen in other places, the missionaries there would be itinerant: they traversed shores, rivers, and estuaries in search of natives scattered through the countryside and farms. They then established villages where they erected a simple chapel made of bamboo and nipa, in addition to a shanty that served as convent. Around it, the few residents settled their residence and agreed to abandon their farms. Ordinarily, this only took place from the moment they accepted the sacrament of baptism.

The children and the authorities occupied a privileged place in their daily agenda. The children were won over primarily through catechesis, school, and song. Catechesis was based on the repetition of some prayers and the basic truths of Christianity.

They greatly appreciated the splendour of worship, especially during Holy Week, the feast of Corpus Christi, and the main patronal fiestas of every town. The processions, the chanting of the Passion and the Rosary, groups of flagellants, and the activities of some confraternities completed their effectiveness.

Sacramental life was rather sluggish. The number of missionaries rarely exceeded ten; and that scarcity, coupled with the vast expanse of the territories, made the regular administration of the sacraments practically impossible. Despite that, there were some chosen souls, especially devoted, who were commonly known as beatas.

The missionary’s task was not simple. The area was not yet pacified, and its inhabitants viewed all Spaniards with mistrust. It was not easy for them to distinguish between missionaries and soldiers or “encomenderos”.

The religious had to further face obstacles in the psychological and cultural realm such as the polygamy of the ruling class, ownership of slaves, and excessive attachment to their own practices and religious traditions.

It should not be surprising that this first phase of evangelization, which had been going smoothly, was abruptly interrupted by the rebellion of the natives in July 1631. In just a few days, they pillaged the towns, burned down the convents, desecrated the sacred vessels, murdered four missionaries, and seized two others, keeping them in captivity.

Revolts such as these naturally stalled the missionary activity with hardships. Yet they did not paralyze it. Rather astonishing was the speed with which they restored the demolished missions and reconstructed the churches and convents which had been razed to the ground. More laborious would be the repair of the social and religious fabric.

B) Palawan

With respect to Palawan and the Calamianes archipelago, further north, the first four missionaries disembarked at Cuyo in 1623, and they immediately spread from there to Agutaya, Dumaran, Linapacan, and to the north of the largest island, Palawan.

The whole area would be the favourite target of Moro raids. The bloodiest took place in 1636 when the pirates razed Cuyo and Agutaya to the ground, burned down the resettled populations, killed children and elderly people, and took into captivity those who were deemed capable of working. Among them were three missionaries: Juan de San Nicolás, Alonso de San Agustín, and Francisco de Jesús María. The three perished at the hands of the invaders. They constituted the first links of the tragic chain that prolonged the bloody rings until the 19th century.

These repeated misfortunes deeply moved the Province and spurred it to search for means that might increase the safety of its sons. Unfortunately, the measures carried out by the government in Manila did not have the appropriate effect, and the solutions it delivered turned out to be insufficient. In 1659, they were forced to give up the ministries of Cuyo and Calamianes.

C) Romblón, Mindoro and Masbate

The administration of these islands, closer this time to Manila, was accepted by the Recollects, constrained by the government along with need to establish themselves in safer territories.

In Romblón, the key figure was Fray Agustín de San Pedro, who resided there between 1644 and 1650. His renowned expertise in the art of war earned him the epithet of Padre Capitán, and the military fortifications that he erected there put an end to Moro raids.

With regards to Mindoro, the 4,000 Christian families found by the Recollects during their arrival in 1679, had doubled in 1692 until it reached 12,000 in 1716.

They took charge of Masbate, Burias, and Tablas in 1687. The population at that time lay in utter abandon. It was necessary to start from nothing, by climbing mountains and assembling the scattered natives. In 1691, they had grouped together in settlements sixty families that rose to 525 in 1720.

3. Japan

Since 1602, the Church in the Philippines was fully committed to the evangelization of Japan where a glorious and bloody page of missionary heroism was being written.

The Augustinian Recollects, lacking in resources and personnel, initially could not join the very glorious undertaking, but they followed its development with holy emulation.

However, in July 1622, a large group of 24 religious arrived in Manila, and that allowed them to join the enterprise with enthusiasm. Between 1623 and 1632, they organized six expeditions to Japan, but unfortunately, only two reached their destination.

The first expedition was composed of Francisco de Jesús and Vicente de San Antonio, Spanish and Portuguese, respectively. For six years, both missionaries carried out their intense activity amid ruthless persecution until November 1629 when they were arrested and thrown in jail.

At the prison of Omura, they spent three years waiting and yearning for martyrdom. The two Recollects were burned at the stake in Nagasaki on 3 September 1632, after having undergone the torture of the sulfuric waters in Mount Uzen, and they would be beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867.

Together with them were three Japanese Blessed Martyrs: Mancio Ichizaemon, Lorenzo Hachizo, and Pedro Kuhyoe. They were the missionaries’ co-workers who were catechists, and the three had professed as Augustinian Recollects inside the Nagasaki jail. In this city, they were beheaded on 28 October 1630.

They were not the only Japanese Martyrs. Blessed Vicente provided the names of the 67 confraternity members and tertiaries who were martyred on 28 September 1630. Prior to this, Blessed Francisco had estimated the number of confraternity members who suffered martyrdom to be around three hundred.

The second expedition, which departed from Manila in August 1632, successfully arrived in Japan. The group of eleven religious belonged to five different Orders. Among them were the Recollects, Melchor de San Agustín and Martín de San Nicolás.

Their stay on Japanese soil was going to be very brief. Betrayed by the Chinese sailors who had transported them to Japan, the two were captured in Nagasaki on 2 November and were slowly burned alive forty days later. Saint John Paul II beatified them on 23 April 1989.

In summary, this glorious chapter of the Province of Saint Nicholas in Japan was concluded by Saint Magdalena of Nagasaki, who died a martyr in mid-October of 1634. She was a tertiary of the Order, and after several months of accompanying and encouraging the Christians who were scattered in the mountains, she voluntarily presented herself to the persecutor.

The Province continued to show interest in Japan for several more years. However, they were not able to re-enter the country.

Let nothing stand as an obstacle to hinder such a heroic endeavour!

“Let not the travails and persecutions that occur in this vineyard deter anyone from coming here; for when compared with the gifts and consolations bestowed by His Divine Majesty, they are all delightful and tolerable. Come on! My dear fathers and brethren: let us cast aside considerations of flesh and blood and let nothing stand as an obstacle to hinder such a heroic endeavour. I wish to persuade each one of you, with tears from the depths of my being, for I am acutely aware of how vital it is to have ministers of the Holy Gospel in this land. The abundant fruit they yield and the glory for Our Lord that arises from the travails and persecutions our religious endure are immeasurable”.

Blessed Francisco de Jesus,
Letter to the Prior Provincial Andrés del Espíritu Santo,
26 March 1627.

Blessed Francisco de Jesús. Saint Rita’s Parish Church, Madrid, Spain.

Feat in Japan

Blessed Francisco de Jesús was Spanish. He professed as an Augustinian Recollect in Valladolid in 1615. After his priestly ordination, he was sent to study at Salamanca, but he volunteered for the Philippines. Along with seventeen confreres, he embarked on the fourth mission to the Islands in 1619 and arrived there in August of the following year. He spent less than three years, mostly in Zambales. From there, he was recalled to Manila in 1622 to lead the first mission to Japan.

Blessed Vicente de San Antonio was of the same age as Blessed Francisco. Born in Albufeira, Portugal, he grew up in Lisbon and was ordained into the priesthood in 1617. In 1619, he was in the Canary Islands, where he resolved to go to Mexico. During his voyage, a terrifying storm endangered his life, prompting him to vow to enter religious life. Indeed, he was in Mexico when he met the Recollects of the fifth mission to the Philippines and persistently sought the religious habit.

He joined the expedition and undertook the novitiate aboard the galleon. In Intramuros, Manila, he professed his vows on 22 September 1622. As a newly professed religious, he did not request to be sent to Japan, but he was appointed to accompany Francisco de Jesús.

After a perilous long voyage, the Chinese ship on which they travelled, disguised as merchants, reached Japan on 20 January 1623.

The persecution against Christians by Japanese authorities was fierce, yet by 14 October, the two Recollects had already arrived in Nagasaki, the city of martyrs, the epicentre of Japanese Christianity.

For six years, they remained hidden during the day and ministered at night, amidst the constant threat of denunciation. Vicente stayed mostly hidden near Nagasaki among Portuguese compatriots. In 1626, Francisco travelled north to Honshu, where the persecution was less severe. From that year, the two missionaries were separated for two years.

In 1628, Francisco returned to Nagasaki. The persecution had intensified, and the two missionaries were arrested separately within a week: Francisco first, on 18 November 1629. Their young Japanese catechists were also captured: two were Vicente’s, Kaida Hachizo and Yukimoto Ichizaemon, and Francisco’s catechist, Sawaguchi Kuhyoe.

Initially, the five were imprisoned together in Nagasaki. The missionaries used this time to bestow the habit on the catechists and witness their profession as Augustinian Recollects: they would be named Lorenzo de San Nicolás, Agustín de Jesús María, and Pedro de la Madre de Dios.

On 11 December, Francisco, Vicente, and other foreign missionaries were transferred to Omura prison. For almost two years, an Augustinian, a Jesuit, and a Franciscan readied themselves for what they believed to be imminent martyrdom. Initially, a group of 67 Christian faithful accompanied them, detained separately. They were executed, some by burning at the stake and others by beheading, on 28 September 1630. A month later, in Nagasaki, their former catechists, now brothers in the religious habit, were also beheaded. Vicente and Francisco joyfully informed the provincial.

For the non-Japanese, there were more tortures remaining, such as the dreadful sulfuric baths of Unzen in December 1631. Afterwards, the Recollects were left in Nagasaki, where they were burned alive on 3 September 1632.

The five —a Spaniard, a Portuguese, and three Japanese, representing the universality of the Augustinian Recollect charism— were beatified in 1867.

The day after the execution of their confreres, while their ashes still smouldered, the next two Recollects arrived in Nagasaki after several attempts. They were Melchor de San Agustín, from Granada, and Martín de San Nicolás, from Zaragoza. Both had been missionaries for ten years in the Philippines, where they were well-known: Melchor as a preacher and Martín as a man of deep spirituality with a special concern for the sick.

In less than three months, on 1 December, they were arrested, and ten days later, they were martyred. They were beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1989.

After them, only one Recollect successfully landed on Japanese soil at the port of Osaka in 1635: Juan de San Antonio (†1663).

Some laypeople, like Magdalena of Nagasaki, a young woman from a family of martyrs and a tertiary under the spiritual guidance of Blessed Vicente, took it upon themselves to continue the mission.

Magdalena traversed the mountains, dedicating herself to encouraging, comforting, and educating Christians hidden in caves, disheartened. After witnessing many on the brink of despair, she resolved to confront the persecuting ruler.

Descending to Nagasaki, she faced the governor, exposed his falsehoods, resisted his temptations, and endured torture. She died on 15 October 1634, after thirteen days of being suspended upside down in a pit.

She was beatified in Manila in 1981 and canonized six years later in Rome. Since 1989, she has been venerated as the patroness of the Augustinian Recollect Secular Fraternity.

Saint Magdalena of Nagasaki, flower of the Fujiyama. By David Conejo, OAR.

Footprints of the Evangelization of Japan

The presence of the Augustinian Recollects in Japan was brief yet intense. The treasure trove of missionary correspondence was published in 2019 under the title Letras de fuego [Fiery Letters].

Christianity was banned in Japan until 1873. In 2015, UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] recognized the sites of this persecution as World Heritage Sites, including the Urakami Cathedral, built on the site where captives were interrogated. In Suzuta, Omura, a cross marks the prison site where the two Recollects, Blessed Vicente and Francisco, were jailed and later executed at the Hill of Nishizaka in Nagasaki, where a museum and a monument to the martyrs now stand.

In 2019, Santiago Bellido, a painter born in Valladolid, Spain, in 1970, depicted the three Japanese Recollects, Blessed Martyrs Pedro, Agustín, and Lorenzo. He adopted an Oriental perspective, akin to axonometry: figures remain constant in size regardless of distance, and parallel lines do not converge at a vanishing point.

Blessed Japanese Recollects. By Santiago Bellido.

The perception is almost aerial, evident in the frame with the distant city or the overlapping figures, some atop others. There are three very compact, organic groups, rendered in an expressionistic, almost surreal, and more spiritual tone, set apart by a surrounding white field.

At the centre are the martyrs: Pedro, absorbed and serene; Agustín, hopeful; Lorenzo, alarmed. Encircling them are individuals with twelve distinct reactions: from right to left, front to back, are the mocker, the disdainful, the informer, the haughty, the enraged, and one who exults. A Buddha mask, fitting for the era and region, completes the group.

To the right, from front to back, are the distressed, the compassionate (with a child), the prudent (calming the watchman), the contemplative executioner (who gazes sternly at the group to his right), and a Westerner (praying while gazing at the Spirit, at a level that includes the group of martyrs). Lastly, a dog—a symbol of unobtrusive loyalty—the only one attempting to engage with the viewer.

The Holy Spirit, as a flame, hovers over the martyrs, bathing them in light. This white field is interrupted only at two points, allowing contact between the martyrs and the executioners: the “malevolent” executioner who carries out the martyrdom and the “benevolent” executioner who receives from them the seed of Faith.

The colour and perspective allow the ground to appear at the bottom almost like the periphery of a cloud enveloping the martyrs’ figures.

A Province of Volunteers

Until 1824, when the college-novitiate house was opened at Alfaro in La Rioja, Spain, the Province of Saint Nicholas had no houses in Spain, let alone a formation house. Almost all its members were recruited from the thirty-two Spanish convents. For this reason, a commissary was periodically dispatched from the Philippines to visit the convents in search of volunteers.

In theory, the State financed the expenses of these voyages; in practice, its contribution was often reduced to about half the amount. Consequently, it was essentially the Province that had to cover the remaining costs. Whenever possible, religious who had completed their studies were preferred because they would not be able to complete their formation adequately in the Philippines.

The system yielded results—in the 18th century, 440 volunteers participated in 13 expeditions—but it had significant drawbacks: sometimes, the scarcity of funds delayed the commissaries; at other times, the appointed commissary did not fulfil his commitment adequately. And finally, it was not uncommon for volunteers to change their minds before reaching the Philippines. As a result, there was a chronic shortage of missionaries.

Missionaries of the Province during their journey to the Philippines on the ship Conte Verde (1939).

El Padre Capitán and His Cathedral

If there ever was an Augustinian Recollect who could be described as legendary in the Philippines, it would be Fray Agustín de San Pedro, known as the Padre Capitán (1599-ca. 1660). Similarly, if there was a Muslim leader considered equally mythical, it would be Mohammed Dipatuan Kudarat, Sultan Kudarat—or Corralad or Corralat in Spanish chronicles—who even lent his name to one of the provinces of Mindanao. These two figures stand as legendary military leaders of the opposing factions on this grand island throughout the entire 17th century: the Moros and the Spaniards.

However, strictly speaking, Padre Capitán was not Spanish, as he was born in Braganza, Portugal. He received his formation in Spain, studying in Salamanca and professing his religious vows at the Recollect convent of Valladolid in 1619. He set sail for the Philippines as a friar not yet ordained as a priest and received his priesthood in Mexico. Alongside Blessed Martín de San Nicolás, he was part of the 1622 mission that arrived in Manila the subsequent year.

He was sent to Mindanao, an island recently placed under the care of the Recollects. The primary challenge there was to withstand the Moro raids that devastated settlements, committed atrocities, and took men and women captive. Fray Agustín revealed his military acumen, mobilized the parishioners, trained them in the art of warfare, and built fortifications with their assistance.

A notable example of his work is the church-fortress of Romblon, situated far to the north. Despite its distance from the Moros of the south, they frequently reached this island. The Recollects’ initial experience in Romblon, which could be seen as emblematic of their entire apostolate, occurred in 1635, just four years after the town’s establishment. Upon assuming control of Romblon, the first parish priest was forced to seek refuge in the mountains to evade capture.

From 1644 to 1651, Padre Capitán was responsible for organizing Romblon’s defence. He erected a robust church, featuring a tower whose base served as a fortress. Instead of choosing an elevated site, he positioned it against the mountain, creating a sanctuary for the entire community. He also constructed two forts on the mountains overlooking the town (below, the Fort of San Andrés) and a wall with three bulwarks, now vanished, that blocked all access from the shore.

In 1974, the church became the cathedral for the newly established Diocese of Romblon, one of the country’s oldest and most splendid cathedrals.

Almansa, the Tenacious Volunteer

“On those occasions when I was able, I have written to Your Reverence, giving thanks for choosing me and assigning me to the service of the Lord for the conversion of the Kingdom of Japan… Twice have I departed from here for the Kingdom of Japan in the company of other religious figures dispatched by this Province of Saint Nicholas.

“The first time, in the Lord’s service, the religious and other passengers of the ship had to swim ashore, waiting for clothes floating in the sea to cover us. On another occasion, about two months ago, the governor ordered us to disembark when our ship was already fifty leagues from Manila. Great sums of money had been spent on both trips.

“I humbly ask Your Reverence, in all earnestness and by the blood of Jesus our Redeemer, to deign to hand over that letter to our Father Vicar General —whom we have not yet met— in which I seek permission to go to Japan. By helping me as a very kind father to obtain it, may that permit come so that no one may put any obstacle in to it“.

Miguel de Santa María, ‘Almansa’,
Letter to Vicar General Jerónimo de la Resurrección.
July 1630.

Evangelization of the Philippines. By Pastor Paloma, OAR (1943-1996). Museum of Marcilla (Navarra, Spain).

San Nicolas Convent of Intramuros

Located in the current geography of the Province, scattered across various continents, we can distort the historical perspective. This is particularly true when the focal centre has disappeared three-quarters of a century ago. We are referring to the Convent of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, the motherhouse of the Province for 337 years.

When they landed in Manila in 1606, the Recollect pioneers settled on the outskirts of the city walls, in an area called Bagumbayan. Long before setting sail from Spain, they had chosen Saint Nicholas of Tolentino as their patron saint and dedicated their new convent in Manila to him.

They demonstrated remarkable zeal, for in just over a year, the faithful persuaded them to move to Intramuros, adjacent to the central government and ecclesiastical offices. With donations, they acquired a plot of land next to the walls.

To construct the convent and church, they accepted the help of Bernardino Maldonado del Castillo, an ardent devotee of Saint Nicholas. The construction was completed in 1619, and it was Fray Rodrigo de San Miguel who concluded the project, declaring his satisfaction with one of the best buildings in the city.

This new convent was placed under the spiritual patronage of Saint Nicholas, while Bagumbayan was entrusted to the religious patronage of Saint John the Baptist. From then on, Intramuros became the central administrative office of the Province, initially overseeing the Philippines and later Japan, Spain, China, Venezuela, Trinidad, Peru, England, and more.

In Intramuros, the prior provincial and his council resided. The missionary expeditions from Spain first settled here, and the archive and library of the Province were housed here, as it also served as a formation house. Additionally, it functioned as the general infirmary and house of rest.

This continued for centuries until the Second World War when, on February 3, 1945, during the Liberation of Manila, American forces bombarded Intramuros, where Japanese troops made their final stand. The bombs levelled the walled city, including the Recollect convent and church. The Japanese also massacred the hostages. Among the thousands of victims were over a hundred religious, including six Recollects.

Today, the glorious history of San Nicolas in Intramuros is commemorated by a marker where the proud belfry once stood. In the city street map of Intramuros, Manila, the name Recoletos Street remains, marking the former site of the convent and church.

NEXT PAGE: 3. 18th Century: The Philippines, Land of Heroic Deeds

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History of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine:
‘Always in mission’

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