The Augustinian Recollect Family and the municipality of Pauini celebrate a month of August full of gratitude and parish events: family week, Heart of Solidarity Day, diamond wedding, novena and feast of Saint Augustine.
On August 28, the solemnity of Saint Augustine, the Catholic community of the Brazilian municipality of Pauini, in the State of Amazon, culminated a month full of gratitude for the great blessings it has received during the last 75 years.
The Parish of Saint Augustine has thus reached its diamond wedding jubilee year, 75 years, when its territory was dismembered from the Parish of Labrea. Pauini currently has an area of 41,624.664 km² (similar to that of Switzerland or the Netherlands) and a resident population of 19,373 people (IBGE 2022).
The municipality has a human development index of 0.496 (considered, therefore, low). It should be noted that this index is obtained according to the statistical indicators of human development quality, gender gap throughout the life cycle, women’s empowerment, environmental sustainability and socioeconomic sustainability. According to data from the United Nations Development Programme, this means the 5,538th position out of 5,565 in the whole Brazil according to this index.
The Augustinian Recollects have been at the head of the Parish of St. Augustine of Pauini since its creation on August 15, 1949, 25 years after the creation of the Prelature of Labrea, which also this year opened the jubilee celebrations for its first centenary (1925-2025).
The diamond wedding anniversary has been the unifying axis of parish activities throughout the month of August. Thus, a Family Week was organized first from August 4 to 11. On the same day, the 4th, the Solidarity Heart Day of ARCORES, the Augustinian Recollect International Solidarity Network, was celebrated in the parish with a missionary fair and sale of food, sweets and drinks.
Thus, this Parish in such a disadvantaged place also participated in solidarity, as an example of feeling part of the Universal Church and that charity can always be exercised, no matter the circumstances or the place.
On August 10th there was a multitudinous adoration of the Blessed Sacrament under the motto “Friendship: a way of life with a taste of the Gospel”, putting in special emphasis one of the most important Augustinian values.
At the same time, the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Nazareth entered the parish territory through the Purus River starting on August 13th. This image, a copy of the one that resides in the cathedral church of Our Lady of Nazareth in Labrea, is together with the missionary Cross the symbol of the celebration of the first centenary of the Prelature.
The pilgrim image came from Canutama by ship and arrived accompanied by a good number of faithful and the priest Fabio Sejanoski, parish priest of Canutama. Our Lady visited the rural communities located along the Purus, with stops in Tamacuru and Ermida before arriving at the port of Pauini on the 15th, in the very commemoration of the 75th anniversary.
Songs, flags and fireworks accompanied a large crowd that received the image and the two parish priests, from Canutama (Father Fábio) and from Pauini (the Augustinian Recollect Roberto Carlos Alvarado) began the procession that took the image from the port to the parish church of Saint Augustine, where the Eucharist was celebrated to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Parish.
The bishop of the Prelature, Santiago Sánchez, sent his special blessing from Labrea on the occasion of the 75th anniversary through a video message:
“My congratulations and my embrace to all the parishioners. […] Have a very happy day and the special blessing of Our Lady on this day of the Assumption. Receive with affection the image of Our Lady of Nazareth pilgrim. The entire Prelature embraces in a special way the Parish of Pauini.
The novena to St. Augustine began on August 19. That first day the protagonist was St. Ezequiel Moreno and the central theme was the explanation of the motto of the celebrations, aligned with the one used by the Augustinian-Recollect Family this year: “Do you aspire to great things? Start with the smallest. 75 years of grace and mission.”
After the Eucharist there was a special blessing for the sick and a procession of vehicles from the main church to the base community of Saint Francis with images of St. Augustine and Our Lady of Nazareth the Pilgrim.
The second night of the novena, in the community of Saint Francis, was dedicated to the family. The procession, after the Eucharist, went to the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which hosted the third day of the novena. The attendance was so great that the street was closed to traffic and chairs were set up to continue the celebration. The theme of this day was the building of homes with love.
The chapel of the Sacred Heart hosted the fourth day of the novena, focusing on the theme of health. The Eucharist was offered by professionals in this field in the town and the final procession was to the chapel of Saint Rita, where the following day of the novena was celebrated, dedicated to the mission of the baptized.
From the sixth day onwards, it was the central church that hosted the novena, dedicated respectively to young people (sixth day), vocations (seventh day) and education (eighth day, with a tribute and special praying for teachers and students).
The Bishop of Labrea, Santiago Sánchez, arrived on the 26th to be present in person and preside over the celebration of the patron saint of the city and the Parish, Saint Augustine, as well as to close the parish Jubilee for the 75th anniversary of the Parish.
