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.
Serafín Prado was born in Estollo, in the Spanish province of La Rioja, in 1910. He studied in San Millán and completed his novitiate in Monteagudo, then in Marcilla, until social circumstances led to his transfer to Rome with three confreres in 1931. He earned his licentiate in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and was ordained as a priest in 1934.
He returned to Spain and taught for five years at San Millán, Marcilla, and Lodosa. However, the Spanish Civil War and subsequently the Second World War compelled him to leave Spain for Venezuela in 1940. In Caracas, he taught in various schools, hosted radio programs, and wrote for the press. He also resided in Palmira, Táchira, and San Cristóbal.
During his last two years in Venezuela, he was a professor of young religious until the prior provincial instructed Father Serafín and his students to return to Marcilla, which became his home for the next thirty-nine years, until his death in 1987.
Father Serafín reformed the method and teaching of theology, employing biblical studies and spiritual theology to navigate the crisis faced by many theologians during the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. His lifestyle and philosophy made religious life appealing to the younger generation, enhancing his teaching ministry and fostering numerous vocations. One of his students remarked:
“His classes were a delight. He taught in the courtyard, hallways, any corner, at any moment, and we gathered around him, content. He spoke of topics we had not heard from anyone else. His vision was far ahead of his time, and he shared it without causing disruption, with such charm that he captivated us.”
In 1955, he was appointed prior of the community, which then comprised about ninety religious members, and he significantly improved their living conditions.
In 1966, the prior general appointed him director of the new Institute of Spirituality. Father Serafín had foreseen the Second Vatican Council’s requirement for Orders to define their charism. The first chapter of the post-conciliar Constitutions (1968) was his work. He became a prominent disseminator and catechist of the Vatican Council within the Order.
His eloquence stirred people and consciences, and he was frequently invited to preach at numerous celebrations and events, such as the inauguration of the seminary in Valladolid.
The following inscription adorns the house where he was born:
Augustinian Recollect, guardian of exalted values, professor of dogmatic and spiritual theology, educator and exemplar for two generations of Augustinians, herald of the glories of the Virgin of Valvanera and San Millán, both of La Rioja, Spain, whom he called ‘the love of his loves,’ orator and poet for eternity.
