The initiative to celebrate the feast of All Saints of the Augustinian Family with the youngest fills classrooms, social projects and ministries of the Province with color throughout the world.
November 13 is marked in red on the liturgical calendar of the Augustinian Family. If a few days earlier the universal Church celebrates the solemnity of All Saints, the day on which Saint Augustine was born in the year 354 allows us to remember those who, following the Augustinian charism, share in happiness with God and left a halo of exemplarity and a joyful and meaningful life.
Educational centers in Spain
The educational centers of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Augustinian Recollects in Spain prepare this day of the “birthday” of Saint Augustine with many posters, decorations, costumes and educational initiatives.
At the Saint Augustine High School in Valladolid, they have organized the activities in conjunction with the central theme of the 2024-2025 school year for the Augustinian-Recollect Family: “Pilgrims of hope.” Saint Augustine was a pilgrim who traveled the Roman Empire looking for his place in this world. Each of the cities in which he lived later marked his life.
The students of the School were invited to follow his journey. From Infant to Baccalaureate, they built a large “Saint Augustine Passport” to seal it with the visas of Tagaste, Madaura, Carthage, Rome, Milan and Hippo, the stages of the saint’s life and also of the Augustinian-Recollect Youth (JAR).
Each student received an Augustinian pilgrim credential that they will seal at Pastoral activities and other celebrations to represent their progress and achievements, promoting a sense of belonging and shared personal growth.
With the school completely decorated, the educational community of the Saint Augustine School in Chiclana de la Frontera (Cádiz, Spain) also discussed the subject in the classrooms. The school meeting has been postponed to Friday, November 22, given that significant rain was expected in the region on the scheduled date.
The Romareda School of the Augustinian Recollects in Saragossa took advantage of the holiday to celebrate Augustinian Week. For the primary school students there were mathematical challenges inspired by the numerology of the life of Saint Augustine and the Augustinian Family.
Every day, special prayers were said over the school’s public address system and some of the life stories of the saintly bishop of Hippo were told. And all the classrooms were filled with colour and costumes from the time when the saint lived (end of the 4th century and beginning of the 5th century) with the visit of Augustine and his friends.
Guaraciaba do Norte, Brazil
The Parish of Our Lady of Joys of Guaraciaba do Norte (Ceará, Brazil) wanted to unite the feast of All Saints, which in Brazil is moved to Sunday the 3rd, with the memory of the main Augustinian saints and the closing of the Pilgrimage of Hope.
All the base communities have reflected on personal and community happiness based on the example of the saints, models and examples of happy life and intercessors who continue to pray for the living.
The 52 Christian base communities of the Parish participated in a very colorful procession in which all the children were dressed as their favorite saints or as the patrons of each of the communities. The event ended with a multitudinous Eucharist and a worship concert by the “Band In Mission”.
The Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe of the contemplative Augustinian Recollect Nuns contributed its own group of costumes with the most important saints of the Augustinian-Recollect Family.
Boys’ Town, Costa Rica
In Boys’ Town, the day of All Saints of the Augustinian Family and the spiritual atmosphere of the ecclesiastical feast of All Saints were used to prepare a youth experience centered on Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial recognized on his path to sainthood.
The activity revolved around a relic of the blessed, which was installed on a monumental altar in the temple of Our Lady of Consolation of the socio-educational institution. The joy of Blessed Carlo and his intelligent and positive use of technology were the values that were most highlighted and promoted under the perspective that we can all be saints.
During the day of spiritual and fraternal experience, the young people prayed the rosary together, had lunch, played volleyball and football, sang and, again before the altar of the blessed, reflected and prayed in silence until celebrating the closing Eucharist.
