Some of the treasures of the history of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Order of Augustinian Recollects and the environments and spaces where it has carried out its work throughout history and today.
Located northwest of Chihuahua State with a land area of 30,784.12 km² (similar to the size of Galicia in Spain or Guanajuato in Mexico), the majority of its population lives on the high plateau at 2,200 metres above sea level, traversed by the Sierra Madre Occidental from north to south, characterized by mountains, valleys, ravines, and gorges.
It boasts a dreamy landscape with jungles of coniferous trees and a colourful population. Pre-Columbian cultures coexist (Tarahumaras, Pimas, and Guarijíos); the Mennonites, almost a parallel state; the mestizos and the whites, many with Anglo-Saxon surnames and traits, descendants of the gold prospectors.
Pope Saint Paul VI established the Prelature in 1966 with the most mountainous parishes from the Dioceses of Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, and Ciudad Obregón. Justo Goizueta, then vicar of Mexico, was appointed its first administrator.
The Augustinian Recollects took charge of the parishes of Santa Ana, Nicolás Bravo, Ciudad Madera, El Terrero, Gómez Farías, and Mesa del Huracán; later, Namiquipa (1967), Ciudad Guerrero (1968), Bachíniva (1970), Temósachic (1971), La Junta (1971), and Yécora (1971) were added to their administration.
At the peak of their presence, there were up to 23 friars, almost all young, who traversed the rugged mountain range, dedicating the best years of their lives.
They fostered vocations such that the local clergy gradually took charge of Temósachic (1972), Santa Ana (1977), Yécora (1981), Mesa del Huracán (1982), Ciudad Madera (1989), Nicolás Bravo (1990), and Farías (1990).
Catechesis and the sacraments occupied much of their time due to the immense distances, the multitude of nuclear communities disseminated (up to sixty in La Junta), the death of personnel, and the lack of a more organized and oriented pastoral program. Indeed, the Cursillos de Cristiandad, Nocturnal Adoration, and Marriage Encounter were promoted.
The friars distributed a large quantity of food and medicines. Moreover, they repaired, reconstructed, or built more than thirty buildings, including temples, halls, and parish houses.
The population suffered from a high degree of illiteracy, lack of communication, an excessive percentage of alcoholism, labour exploitation, and violence stemming from drug trafficking. Emigration was a constant, a fixed phenomenon.
On 17 November 1995, the Diocese of Cuauhtémoc-Madera was created from the territory of the Prelature and other towns, a testament to the well-accomplished tasks by the Recollects. Two Recollect communities remain: La Junta and Cuauhtémoc City. At the Cathedral of Madera, Recollect vestiges still exist, with its stained-glass windows of the saints of the Augustinian Recollect Family (photo, Saint Ezekiel Moreno).
