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.
David Arias was born in Mataluenga, in the Spanish province of León, in 1929, into a family of seven children—two of whom were Augustinian Recollects and one an Augustinian Recollect Missionary Sister. He entered the seminary in San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, in 1941, made his profession in Monachil, Granada, in 1948, and was ordained as a priest in Barcelona in 1952 during the 35th Eucharistic Congress.
Following his formation at the seminary of San Sebastián, he was assigned in 1953 to the recently erected Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Mexico City. In addition to his duties as parochial vicar, he served as a professor and chaplain at the school of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary. His tenure there lasted eight years, punctuated by brief assignments to the parishes of Fabens and Marfa in Texas, USA.
After earning his Licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Institutum Teresianum in Rome (1963-1964), he was sent to the United States, where he would remain for the rest of his life, serving as master of the professed in Kansas City.
From 1967 onward, his life, dedication, and commitment were to the Hispanics in the United States. He worked at the Saint Joseph Centre in New York, the seat of the Cursillos de Cristiandad, initially as assistant director (1967-1968) and later as director and spiritual adviser (1969-1978). He combined this pastoral service with governance roles as councillor and vicar of the Province.
In 1978, the Archdiocese of New York appointed him Director of Hispanic Pastoral Ministry and, impressed by his performance, in 1983 he was consecrated as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Newark, New Jersey, and vicar of Hispanic Affairs, a position he held until his retirement in 2004.
He was known for his well-defined, positive, and persevering personality, his firm convictions, and his ability to form close and empathetic interpersonal relationships.
His episcopal motto, “Pascere populum suum” (Feed His People), epitomized his life’s work. From the moment he came into contact with the Hispanic community in the United States, he recognized the need to preserve their culture and traditions, strengthen their roots, and paradoxically, use these as a means for proper integration into American life, contributing their uniqueness without dehumanization or depersonalization.
To achieve this, he established and implemented programs such as “Luz y Vida” (Light and Life) in 1971, a seedbed for future leaders beyond the spiritual realm, and he advocated for his brethren against prejudice, exploitation, and exclusion.
Between 1960 and 2004, he published numerous works, books, and articles to bring Hispanic culture into the cultural radar of the country and to document the Hispanic contribution to the building of the United States.
He passed away on May 29, 2019, at the age of 89, due to dysphagia and kidney failure.
