Closing of the First Centenary of the Augustinian Recollects in Shangiqu (Henan, China). Madrid, October 20, 2024.

The Augustinian-Recollect Family closes the 1st Centenary (1924-2024) of the Mission in Shangqiu (China) in Madrid with a thanksgiving full of emotion and meaning: none of the founders of that mission would have imagined that, one hundred years later, the first Secular Fraternity in Chinese would begin in Madrid.

The World Mission Day (DOMUND) of the year 2024 has served the Augustinian-Recollect Family as an opportune date to close a year of celebrations on the occasion of the 1st Centenary (1924-2024) of the Mission of the Augustinian Recollects in Shangqiu, Henan, China.

After a previous congress, which we have already reported on, the Augustinian-Recollect Family met at five o’clock in the afternoon on World Mission Sunday at the Parish of Santa Rita in Madrid (Spain) to give thanks for its centenary presence in China, which has been summed up this year with the motto “Sowers of Hope”.

Due to some special circumstances, during the closing of the Centenary an image was produced that would have been unimaginable for those first six young Spanish Recollects who began their evangelizing task in that distant place in the depths of China in 1924.

Thus, almost half of the concelebrants (12 of the 28 priests present) were of Chinese origin; more than half of the faithful present were also of Chinese origin; and the celebration saw the emotional opening of the first Chinese-speaking Augustinian-Recollect Secular Fraternity, as eight founding candidates began their year of testing and training prior to the issuance of their baptismal promises with the commitment to live and bear witness to the Augustinian-Recollect spirituality from their lay life; ; and the ceremony was held bilingually, Spanish and Chinese.

Another great center of attention in the ceremony was the painting of the five Chinese Augustinian Recollect martyrs, another of the fruits of the celebration of this Centenary and is the work of the artist Santiago Bellido, who was present at the ceremony.

The Chinese Chaplaincies in Spain had the detail of being present during the ceremony, hence the great presence of this Chinese Catholic community in Spain. They wanted to accompany the rest of the Augustinian-Recollect Family, very well represented by religious representatives of all the Provinces of the Order of Augustinian Recollects in Spain and of the communities of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine; three cloistered Augustinian Recollect nuns; eight Augustinian Recollect Missionaries; a good number of members of the Secular Fraternities, who wanted to welcome the new candidates in Chinese…

The Eucharist was presided over by the bishop emeritus of Tarazona (Zaragoza, Spain), Eusebio Hernández, and the thanksgiving of the Province was led by the provincial prior of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Augustinian Recollects, Carlos González.

During his homily, the bishop, following the words of Pope Francis in his Message for DOMUND 2024, encouraged those present to strengthen their missionary spirituality, since “evangelization is the identity card of the Church” and “there is no more peaceful and great revolution than the mission, to carry the message of Jesus: love one another as I have loved you.”

He had moving and emotional words for the missionaries, and a very special memory for the Recollect missionaries who opened the mission in China: “They suffered countless humiliations, prisons, persecutions, armed conflicts, famines, two wars, and they always remained firm in the faith and knew how to transmit the Gospel with their word, their example, their testimony of life with joy, closeness, affection, without coercion or proselytism.”

He also recalled with intensity and emotion his vivid memories of the visit he made to the Mission in Shangqiu accompanied by Esteban Aranaz, present at the ceremony, one of the priests of his diocese of Tarazona who is a missionary in Shanghai and who has been a speaker at the Centenary Congress that took place within the closing events of the Centenary. Eusebio thus recalled his visit to the old cathedral of Shangqiu:

“I had the honor and the joy of briefly learning something of that distant reality. (…) I felt a tremendous shudder and tremble, because I imagined our brothers renewing their evangelizing commitment there and recovering physical, psychological and spiritual strength to face so many unimaginable difficulties. Yes, I am sincere: I felt deeply moved, small before the grandeur of those men, tears welled up in my eyes.”

Before the offertory, the provincial prior accepted the eight candidates to form the first Chinese-speaking Augustinian-Recollect Secular Fraternity, which will, however, have its place of meeting in Madrid.

The provincial prior asked them if they wished to dedicate themselves during this time of trial to fulfilling the purpose of the Augustinian-Recollect Secular Fraternity, to which the eight responded unanimously with a “yes”. Then, the provincial prior said: “And I, admit you to this time of trial and declare you candidates for the Augustinian-Recollect Secular Fraternity.”

Carlos González again addressed his words to the participants at the time of thanksgiving: “God has been great with us and we are happy, hopeful and grateful.” He continued pointing out that the heart of the members of the Augustinian-Recollect Family “continues to be sensitive to the missionary dimension: we want to be mouth, voice, heart to announce the message of the gospel.”

He also recalled that “the meeting between the Recollection and the People’s Republic of China is full of richness and blessings” and that “God has united us thanks to that mission.” He also expressed his gratitude that “minds, hearts and arms” have been put “at the service of a celebration that celebrates the values of the missions and the evangelizing dimension.”