Fray Miguel Miró re-elected OAR Prior General

ROME—Fray Miguel Miró Miró OAR was elected for the second term as Prior General of the Order of Augustinian Recollects on October 25, 2016 by the 55^th General Chapter in Rome.

Garnering an absolute majority of the 40 Capitulars, Fray Miró received the vote of confidence to serve the 428-year old Recoletos and to be at the forefront of the Order for the next sexennium (2016-2022).

Father Miguel was born in Vinebre (Tarragona, Spain). He entered the Order at age 23, in 1972, after having obtained a degree in architecture from the University of Barcelona. Having finished his philosophical studies and completed his novitiate in Monteagudo (Navarra), he proceeded to study theology in the Augustinian Recollect Theological Seminary in Marcilla (Navarra).

Bishop José María Cirarda, archbishop of Pamplona, ordained him a priest on August 28, 1978 in Lodosa (Navarra) where he began to serve in the formation apostolate and where he would remain for seventeen years while working in different formation houses: Lodosa, Fuenterrabía (Guipúzcoa) and Valladolid, as in-charge of the postulants; Monteagudo, as Novice Master for three years; and Marcilla where he worked as Master of the Professed for four years.

In 1995, he was sent to Rome where he obtained his Licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Gregorian Pontifical University.

In the Provincial Chapter of 1997 convoked in Marcilla, he was elected Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Nicholas of Tolentino. (NOTE: At this time, he was among those who prepared for the birth in 1998 of the youngest province of the Order—the Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno.) He dispensed his office for six years, upon his reelection in the Provincial Chapter of 2000.

As his mandate as Prior Provincial, two goals prompted his action: the promotion-formation of vocations and the intensification of spiritual life.

Among the appointments made by the newly-elected Provincial Council in 2003 was that of Father Miguel who was assigned as the local prior of the theology house in Marcilla. But he carried this out for only a year since in the General Chapter of 2004 in which he was a delegate, he was elected Vicar General and First General Councilor.

During the distribution of responsibilities within the Order’s team of governance, he was assigned to take charge of the General Secretariat of Spirituality and Prior of the Generalate House in Rome, aside from other tasks. As President of the said general secretariat, he was able to expand his knowledge of the Order and establish fraternal rapport with a lot of religious in the entire geography in which the Augustinian Recollects are present.

Furthermore, he was also given the task by the previous General Council to take charge of the publications such as the publication of the newsletter Notitiae OAR. He was also responsible for making the Order present through social media communications. Through his initiative, an institutional website was created for the whole Order which, aside from offering relevant news items, it also serves the religious and the lay people with documents, exchange of ideas, responses to questions, etc.

The 54^th General Chapter elected him Chapter President, an index of trust which the former Vicar General had inspired the Capitulars. The same Chapter elected him Prior General. During this six-year term, Fray Miguel was among the great proponents of the process of revitalization and restructuring of the Order. His reelection for this function in the general government is a sign of confidence that the religious have in him.