Tonatiuh, Hugh, Joseph, and Francisco Javier were ordained in 1999. Twenty-five years later, he has been commemorated in England and Spain, with remembrance of René, the fifth deceased companion. Today, they serve the Church in very heterogeneous ways: the management, the mission, the illness, or the shepherding of the Church.
In 1999, the Province of St. Nicholas of Tolentino had the joy of having five new priests after completing their initial formation. After spending the last year of theology study in the convent of Marcilla (Navarre, Spain), they were ordained throughout the summer and autumn of that year.
On July 31, in Valladolid (Spain), Francisco Javier Acero was ordained a priest; on August 27, it was René Lozano in Ciudad Cuauhtémoc (Chihuahua, Mexico); on September 18, Tonatiuh Espinosa in the Parish of St. Nicholas of Tolentino de Churubusco (Mexico City); and, finally, on October 9 it was Joseph Shonibare and Hugh Patrick Corrigan in Kensal (London).
René (Basaseachi, Chihuahua, Mexico, 1969) died unexpectedly in 2018 due to pneumonia at only 48 years of age. Tonatiuh (Mexico City, 1967) has worked in the ministerial, educational, and economic management fields in Mexico, the United States, and Spain; Hugh (Dublin, Ireland, 1954) has worked in the ministerial field in England and is currently living with a serious degenerative disease from a place of hope; Joseph (London, 1971) has worked in the ministerial field in England and the missionary field in Sierra Leone, Brazil and Cuba; Francisco Javier (Valladolid, 1973), finally, after a life dedicated to the ministerial field in Mexico, now serves the Church as auxiliary bishop of Mexico City.
Since the places of ordination and residence are so varied, the celebrations of 25 years have also been varied, especially those of a personal nature, divided into a good number of places to facilitate the presence of families and friends. However, in two specific places they have been the main joint celebrations.
London
In London there was a celebration presided over by Hugh in the Parish of the English Martyrs at Wembley. And the Parish of St. Anne, Vauxhall, London, brought together the four religious on July 28. On that day, there were two different Holy Mass celebrations in the same place, separated by a few hours. At 10 a.m., the celebration took place in English, presided over by Joseph.
Later, and with the joyful participation of the Latin American Chaplaincy of London, another celebration took place in Spanish at 1:30 p.m., presided over by Tonatiuh. This closed the celebrations in which Hugh was able to participate due to his illness could not travel to Spain.
Valladolid
On July 31, the celebration moved to the St. Augustine College of the Recollects in Valladolid (Spain), the educational center where the vocational story of Francisco Javier began, who presided over the celebration.
Estaba el obispo recoleto auxiliar de México acompañado de dos obispos más: el arzobispo de Valladolid y actual presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal Española,
Luis Argüello; and the Augustinian Recollect Santiago Sánchez, bishop of the Prelature of Labrea (Amazonas, Brazil) and who was Francisco Xavier’s formator during his time in the seminary.
In addition to numerous Recollects from different communities in Spain, the vicar of Mexico and Costa Rica of the Province of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Martin Luengo, and the vicar general of the Diocese of Valladolid, Jesus Fernandez Lubiano.
Professed religious from the St. Augustine Formation House in Las Rozas (Madrid) were in charge of the liturgical songs. In the chapel were friends and collaborators of the Augustinian Recollects in Valladolid, as well as family and friends of Francisco Javier, who, at the beginning of the celebration, recalled the reason for the meeting and introduced his anniversary companions. There was a special memory for Hugh.
The invitation to give thanks to God was constant during the liturgy. In the homily, Francisco Javier told his vocational story and thanked his parents for their solicitude, care, and accompaniment. He underlined his link with Saint Augustine School, which he entered at only two years of age as an external student and where he decided to become a seminarian, remembering his teachers, formators, and the directors of the center.
In the homily, the ministerial lives of Francis Xavier, Tonatiuh, and Joseph were reviewed in broad strokes, which took those present to parishes, schools, and missions in Mexico, the United States, England, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Cuba, or Spain.
Another important moment of thanksgiving was for the older religious, some sick or in a situation of dependency, present at the celebration. The Saint Augustine School houses the San Ezequiel Moreno Residence, where they are cared for with love and professionalism. “You have been models, trainers, and companions on the road for all this, thank you very much,” Joseph told them.
The Archbishop of Valladolid, Luis Argüello, expressed his joy and referred to the greatness of vocations to consecrated life and ministerial service, of the contribution of religious charisms to the Church, and of how priesthood and religious consecration mutually enrich each other.
He underscored his confidence that God continues to call for the service of the Church in various ministries, especially in the priesthood. He asked everyone to encourage and accompany those who are called. He also expressed his desire that the educational community of the Saint Augustine School be an animator of vocations.
After the Eucharist, everyone was invited to a snack in the school hall, where there was time to personally greet and congratulate the friars, remember old stories and experiences, and, above all, share the Augustinian Recollect spirit in joy and mutual affection.
