In May 1993, in the former mission of Kweiteh (now Shangqiu), Teresa Wang and Lucia Li, the first two Augustinian Recollect missionaries sisters, made their religious profession. Their Congregation was founded by Monsignor Francisco Javier Ochoa, Esperanza Ayerbe, Carmela Ruiz, and Ángeles García, cloistered Augustinian nuns who became zealous missionaries.
Sisters Esperanza Ayerbe and Carmela Ruiz were on the mission of Shangqiu (Henan, China) for ten years (1931-1940). Since 1948, Sister Ángeles left the mission; there was no presence of sisters of the Congregation in that local church, which was providentially “restored” by Monsignor Nicholas Shi, a survivor of the first Chinese Recollect religious. On behalf of the Prior General of the Order, Father Javier Pipaón, he welcomed, trained, and received our Congregation girls desirous of consecrating themselves to God in religious life.
Faced with the happy reality of the rebirth of the Congregation in China, with an incipient ARM community on the Continent, the General Government decided to open a community in Taiwan in December 1995 so that a group of sisters could learn Chinese, become familiar with its culture and, from there, be able to communicate with the young Chinese women of the mission and accompany them in their formation, visiting them when circumstances recommended it.
The Superior General, who accompanied the sisters in founding the community in Taiwan, took advantage of the trip to make the first visit of the Congregation to the nascent community on the Continent.
Accompanied by Father Manuel Piérola, an Augustinian Recollect, in March-April 1996, she was able to come into contact with the places where the roots are sunk and where the founders, with the group of Augustinian Recollect missionaries, established the Church and sowed the territory with faith and hope. With emotion, she heard positive comments from some former catechists and other older people about the early missionaries and details about the founding sisters.
The old buildings, except for the orphanage, were still standing, although some had not yet been returned to the Church and were occupied by families. Later, the superior general coincided with the moment when the minor seminary was being demolished to make room for the construction of the new cathedral.
The meeting with Monsignor Nicolás Shi and the sisters on the mission (three professed and one novice) was exciting:
“Without knowing each other before, we felt that we were brothers from the same family.”
Monsignor Nicolás’s attitude and interest in instilling in the sister’s Augustinian spirituality and a sense of belonging to the Congregation were surprising.
In Wuhan, a professed woman and three postulants studying nursing were also visited, as were three young Augustinian Recollects studying at the seminary in that Diocese. Since it was the beginning of Holy Week, we could participate in the liturgy with the people. On Sunday, we kept one of the blessed branches, which we divided into small bunches, and, on our return from Taiwan, we sent them to each community of the Congregation as a sign of communion of the Chinese community with all.
They were five unforgettable days of coexistence, mutual knowledge, many questions and concerns, but, above all, experiencing God’s grace and providence for the Chinese brothers who knew how to give their lives to remain faithful to the Church amid persecution and rebuild the Christian community in this territory.
From that date, the Taiwanese community, made up of Sisters Teresa Díaz, Jacira Bering, Martha Maldonado, and M. Eugenia Romero, visited the Shangqiu community regularly, sometimes accompanied by the Recollects Benito Suen or Pedro Tung, who, being Chinese, took the opportunity to see the mission and their relatives. Other times, a sister accompanied the general or provincial superior on her trip to the Continent.
The stay on the mission depended on the time granted in the entry visa, which was never more than a month or less than a week. The average was more than 20 days for each visit. And they left when the sisters from the interior saw it was opportune: sometimes, every year; other times, every year and a half or two. They knew the situation and decided which places could be visited and which were not advisable…
The objective of the visits was, in principle, to make the sisters of the Continent feel the presence, closeness, affection, and interest of the entire Congregation for them through:
- Daily coexistence: sharing life, household chores, moments of rest, prayer in the community and with the people. Talking, exchanging experiences and concerns; letting them know the customs of the Congregation in other countries; learning from them their way of thinking and seeing religious life…
Simple moments of mutual knowledge and enrichment. It is also to get to know the surroundings and enjoy walks in the park surrounding the walled city of Shangqiu, which has been improving year after year and is now considered a tourist place.
- Sharing special moments of the community, such as the religious profession of several of them or the first mass of one of the young Recollect priests; the retreats held with priests who came from outside; special days of religious festivals such as the day of the Assumption of the Virgin, with massive attendance of the faithful who came from far away and who put the logistical capacity of the sisters to the test, giving rise to the Eucharist being celebrated outdoors.
And, above all, the fraternal meeting on our Father’s Day, Saint Augustine. It was a tradition that all the brothers and sisters came from their parishes to the central house, Eucharist, and the banquet. Many times on that date, the superior general of the Order was also present with a companion or the provincial of the moment, which reinforced the fraternal ties among them and with the entire Augustinian-Recollect Family.
- Visits to the sisters’ families to learn about their places of origin and the situation in which they have lived. Of course, the areas are relatively close, being in the province of Henan or Shandong. In all cases, the families were especially receptive to the foreign sisters, even in those where not all were Christians.
- The sisters visited the different parishes of the diocese of Shangqiu, where they did their pastoral work, accompanying the respective parish priests.
- Special moments of formation in the central house on themes of Christianity, religious identity, and the Congregation. Advice on their participation in the progress of the Congregation and animation in general. Of great help in this task was having at hand from the beginning the translation into Chinese of the Rule and Constitutions and other books of saints of the Order by Fathers Benito Suen and Pedro Tung.
- We shared with them some trips to famous historical places, promoted, organized, and accompanied by the mission fathers.
The superiors of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, who periodically visited the mission, were also a great support for the sisters, especially knowing and feeling like members of a more prominent family on which they could count at all times.
In those 20 years (from 1996 to 2016), the Congregation witnessed the change that had taken place in the country, seeing economic growth more excellent year after year. Communication improved notably; families, in better conditions, acquired vehicles and fixed their houses; imported products could be found in any shopping center… There was even a feeling of growing freedom to move and act. Despite meeting specific requirements to obtain an entry visa, we never had problems entering and leaving the country. And the authorities were always respectful in their treatment of us. We also experienced the vitality of the Catholic Church in China, its organization, and its work of evangelization.
The growth of the Diocese of Shangqiu, the consequent increase in religious vocations, and the consolidation of the ARM community in our place of origin are great reasons to thank God and trust in the future. But the pace of frequent visits stagnated. The situation changed, and after 2016, it was no longer accessible or prudent to visit the sisters or communicate with them. Thank God, during those 20 years, several Chinese sisters went to study Spanish and are again on the mission.
We trust in God that all that is sown will bear fruit of fidelity and perseverance and that communion, even with difficulties, will grow among us. Our founders, who loved this country and this mission so much, are committed to interceding for them.
