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.
Manuel Carceller was born in Forcall, in the Spanish province of Castellón, into a family that contributed a nun and six priests to the Church. José, Domingo, and Manuel were Recollects, while the other three were Piarists. Among them, Francisco was a martyr and is venerated as blessed (1901-1936).
Manuel entered the monastery in San Millán and professed his vows in Monteagudo in 1916. He was ordained as a priest in Calahorra, La Rioja, in February 1923. He subsequently served as a professor, local prior, general councillor, prior provincial, and consistently as a researcher of its history.
From 1923 to 1934, he was a professor in San Millán and Lodosa, teaching all courses, including solfeggio and piano. Thereafter, he served as the local prior of the communities in Marcilla (1934-1937), Zaragoza (1937-1943), and Monteagudo (1943-1944). Over the next six years, he was a general councillor, and from 1952 to 1958, he was the prior provincial of the Province of Saint Nicholas. From 1958, he dedicated himself to studying the history of the Order and to the pastoral care of the parishioners of Saint Rita Parish in Madrid.
At the Service of the Order’s Governance
He upheld the observances of religious life—discipline, poverty, silence, cloister, and others—and supported teaching, culture, and presence in the city. This is exemplified by the construction of the Church of Saint Rita in Madrid, which he oversaw with paternal care (above, Carceller with a surveyor’s theodolite).
He encouraged the schools in the Philippines and urged newly ordained priests to pursue university degrees. He also supported the Province’s commitment to the Avgvstinvs journal (1955) and the establishment of the Avgvstinvs Publishing House and Bookshop, as well as the founding of the Marcilla research journal (1954), to help young professed members begin their writing journey.
Historian and Chronicler
The history of the Order was a constant in his life. He produced essays, notes, and commentaries on religious houses, institutions, devotions, images, and customs. Many of these were published in the Bulletin of the Province, which he edited for fourteen years (1938-1952), and in periodicals like Santa Rita and Pueblo Cristiano. He also frequently collaborated with other non-Recollect publications.
As the general chronicler of the Order (1950-1977), he revitalized the series of the Order’s General History, which had stalled in 1929. Between 1962 and 1974, he published three substantial volumes. His first volume addressed the shortcomings of the ninth volume, while the subsequent two continued the narrative until 1891. All three volumes emphasized the institutional aspects—chapters, lives and directives of the superiors, foundations, etc.—and were enriched with descriptive settings.
He provided extensive information, often tinged with apologetic concerns, and somewhat removed from the political, social, and religious contexts. Nevertheless, as the culmination of extensive research in archives and libraries, they offer a reasonably satisfactory perspective.
