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.
Francisco Moriones was born in Cáseda, in the Spanish province of Navarra, in 1910. He professed his vows on 5 December 1926 and was ordained as a priest in 1934 in Rome, where he obtained his licentiate from the Gregorian University.
After a brief period at the minor seminary in Artieda, Navarra, he was assigned to Saint Augustine Seminary in Kansas City, United States. There, he taught philosophy and theology and served as regent of studies. He belonged to the Province of Candelaria until 1943, when the Province of Saint Augustine was established.
In 1953, he taught at Suffern (New York), at the Recollect house in Tagaste, and at the seminary in Darlington (Mahwah, New Jersey), as well as in Sos del Rey Católico in Zaragoza, Spain. From 1959, he taught philosophy for twenty-four years at Donnelly College (Kansas City) and served as a formator for the Servants of Mary. In 1983, he permanently returned to Suffern. Besides teaching locally, he also conducted classes at Seton Hall University in South Orange and for the Augustinian Recollect nuns in Irvington.
A fervent promoter of Saint Augustine and Augustinian Recollect spirituality, his publications and articles reached nearly all corners of the Augustinian Recollect Family. He was an approachable and good-natured religious, known for his smile and wit.
It is said that Pope Benedict XVI always had Moriones’ Enchiridion Theologicum Sancti Augustini, written in Latin in 1961, on his table. In 1990, Moriones learned to use a computer and began writing Theology of Saint Augustine, which he completed in 1993. In five chapters and 744 pages, he provided a summary of the theology of the holy bishop of Hippo. He dedicated the work to the Holy Father, who expressed his gratitude with a heartfelt letter.
Moriones’ dedication to the Secular Augustinian Recollect Fraternity was admirable, affectionate, and constant. He prepared candidates before they professed their vows, ensuring they were fully aware of their role in the Augustinian Recollect Family. With them in mind, he wrote the three volumes of Augustinian Recollect Spirituality. He cherished every conversation with his religious confreres and laypeople, a quality that was both appreciated and innate to him.
In 2009, as he neared his 98th birthday and 82nd year in religious life, he passed away..
