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.
The apostolate — the raison d’être of the Philippine Province — and the geographical distances conferred certain particularities not contemplated and scarcely reconcilable with the Constitutions. There was a need to address these determinants with special laws and statutes.
The hardships arising from distances were considered in the Constitutions of 1637 and 1645, which remained in force until 1912.
Those stemming from the apostolate were addressed with a directory entitled Modo de administrar [Manner of Administration], which the Intermediate Chapter of 1625 had discussed. It remained in effect until 1898, with timely amendments, particularly in the editions of 1719, 1792, and 1844. It governed the pastoral methods and the religious and community obligations.
In the 19th century, as it established its own formation centres, it sought to adapt to this significant innovation, especially in the Plan of Studies of 1879 and the Instructions of Fray Ramón Miramón to the novices of Monteagudo (1879-1888).
The Plan of Studies elevated the academic level, aligning it with the best seminaries in Spain. The Instructions were divided into three sections: 1st, the excellence of religious life, the dispositions upon entering the novitiate, and the significance of the vows; 2nd, the explanations of the rubrics of the Divine Office and guidance on the social life of the religious; 3rd, practices of piety with special emphasis on meditation, the holiest and most excellent of our works.
Between 1904 and 1909, the Province refined the Rule of the seminary college of San Millán de la Cogolla, which became the defining influence over all other seminaries until the eve of the Second Ecumenical Council. Its thirteen chapters across twenty-two pages described the life of the seminary, its objectives, the conditions for entry, the diet, the faculties of the seminary director, professors, and other officials, and the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual practices, as well as study, recreation, discipline, and community relations.
Around the same time, Marcelino Simonena, master of novices in Monteagudo (1908-1913), composed the Manual of the Augustinian Recollect Novice. It was published in two editions: 1912 and 1924. Following the ancient monastic tradition, he wrote in the form of a dialogue: the master responding to the novice, instructing him in a straightforward and orderly manner on the demands of religious life and the unique characteristics of the Augustinian Recollect charism.
