Historical and biographical review of some of the main figures of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Order of Augustinian Recollects from its foundation to the present day.
His Formation and Initial Services to the Province
Francisco Sádaba was born in Andosilla, Navarra, in 1867. He received his education in Monteagudo, San Millán, and Marcilla, where he was ordained as a priest on December 29, 1890. After dedicating a few years to teaching, he travelled to the Philippines and was assigned to the seminary in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, serving as registrar and professor until its closure in 1895.
In October of that year, Andrés Ferrero altered the trajectory of his life when the prior provincial appointed him as provincial secretary. At twenty-eight years old, Sádaba devoted the remaining thirty-one years of his life to the service of the Province and the Order.
Often, he was thrust into the limelight, facing the public and assuming the role of the main character. More frequently, however, he was relegated to working behind the scenes in silence, dealing with paperwork, seeking solutions to the problems of that troubled period, drafting reports, and providing evidence in defence of the Province’s economic, apostolic, and charismatic interests.
These reports—written in large letters, sometimes with a pencil, and always utilizing the entire sheet of paper—serve as a testament to his dedication to the Order, whose history he knew intimately, and to his strong character and extensive legal knowledge.
Sádaba served as provincial secretary for six years (1895-1902) and then as provincial councillor for the next four years (1902-1906). During this time, he was the community’s spokesperson and a pillar of support for the prior provincial, handling responsibilities of great significance.
He reorganized the provincial archives and transferred them to Spain. He personally oversaw the release of imprisoned friars. He participated in organizing religious missions to America and restored the Province’s reputation through articles in newspapers and by gathering sources for the book Ensayo sobre las corporaciones religiosas [Essay on Religious Orders] by Dominican Fr. Marín y Morales. Additionally, he compiled the biographies of over 1,500 friars in his Catálogo de los religiosos agustinos recoletos [Catalogue of Augustinian Recollect Religious] (1906) and played a crucial role in negotiations regarding hacienda properties in the Philippines.
Convinced of the need to reorganize the Province on new foundations, Sádaba believed that if their apostolate in the Philippines were to continue, they would have to abandon single-staffed parishes and focus on residences with at least four or six religious members, administering a fixed jurisdiction. Although the prior provincial’s office was somewhat receptive to the idea, it remained unimplemented.
In 1906, Sádaba felt it was time to sever the legal ties between the Recollects and the Augustinians. He wished to express this desire in the foreword of his “Catálogo,” but the apostolic commissary considered it premature.
General Procurator of the Order (1908-1914)
During the general chapter, where he served as secretary general, Sádaba proposed making his aspirations a reality. In May 1909, he encouraged Fr. Enrique Pérez to seek the long-desired autonomy. By early 1911, Cardinal Vives had approved the request, and Sádaba had prepared the necessary documents.
In January 1911, he sought to extend the exemptions enjoyed by the vicar general of the Italian Discalced friars to the Recollect superior and to annul the papal briefs that defined the rights of the Augustinian prior general over the Augustinian Recollection. On the 18th, Pope Pius X accepted the petition and assigned the Congregation of Religious to draft the rescript.
This step was monumental. From then on, the Recollects would no longer endure interference from a superior who had been considered external for centuries. However, some ambiguities remained, such as the highest authority still being referred to as “vicar,” a term implying dependence, and the community being called a “Congregation.” Sádaba worked to clarify these issues until September 16, 1912, when the brief “Religiosas families” was issued.
His achievements were not limited to this. He halted secularizations in Brazil, witnessed the establishment of the Apostolic Prefecture of Palawan, and the foundation in Shanghai in 1910. In 1911, he thwarted attempts to dispossess the Recollects of their Church of San Jose in Panama. Between 1909 and 1911, he collected information about the Martyrs of Japan and compiled the “Bullarium of the Order,” a collection of papal bulls.
In his final years in Rome, Sádaba addressed issues that sometimes required him to disregard the council’s directives. The most challenging situations involved a scandal in Shanghai and the deposition of the prior provincial of Saint Nicholas.
The Last Decade
Following the general chapter of 1914, Sádaba’s prominence began to wane. He continued to contribute his intelligence and hard work to the Order, albeit in lesser roles.
The Order ruled out the possibility of him remaining in Rome, where Cardinal Vico had wanted him as his personal secretary. From November 1914 to April 1916, he served as vicar provincial in Spain, then as prior of Manila (1916-1917), general councillor (1917-1920), and finally as provincial councillor (1922-1925).
The Province assigned him to visit Venezuela and to become familiar with Kweiteh in China. At the request of the archbishop of Manila in 1922, he investigated the complex situation of the Obras Pías of the archdiocese.
Sádaba passed away in Manila on August 5, 1925, after a painful illness. In the midst of his suffering, he found the strength to whisper with his barely audible voice:
“How beautiful is the pain, for it gives us something to offer to Christ Jesus, who suffered greatly for us.”
