Kaohsiung City, TAIWAN—On November 24, 2018, St. Nicholas Parish compound in Daliao was used as one of the polling stations for the elections of local officials, city legislators and district chiefs in Kaohsiung city. For the past several years, the OAR parish had been a venue for many elections held, both local and national. The…
Read MoreQUEZON CITY – Two Augustinian Recollect religious of the Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno participated in the Asia-Pacific Augustinian Conference (APAC) Convention held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam last November 9-11, 2018. Fray Edgar Tubio, OAR, Section Head of the Ministerial and Mission Apostolates, and Fray Kenneth Joseph Onda, OAR, Master of the Professed…
Read MoreKamalo, SIERRA LEONE – “Transition creates tension” summarized how Fray Jose Prudencio Castillo, OAR, head of the Augustinian Recollect Mission in Sierra Leone and local prior of the Recoletos de Kamalo community, saw the stakeholders’ initial reactions to the educational climate change introduced by the Recoletos friars in their school apostolate here. As the new…
Read MoreSAIPAN—In the late afternoon of October 24, 2018, a Wednesday, Fray Allan Rubett Cabatian, OAR, local prior of Recoletos de Saipan, sent a text message to the office of the Prior Provincial saying, “We are experiencing a super typhoon stronger than Soudelor. Please include us in your prayers.” The next day, October 25, news and…
Read More(Article from North Star, Publication of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands) SAIPAN—October 14, 2018 marked a significant event for Santa Remedios Parish. Not only was it the celebration of their annual fiesta but this year, a “re-enactment” of the arrival of the image of Nuestra Señora Bithen Delos Remedios was also held.…
Read MoreProvincial Curia, QUEZON CITY – A week before those natural disasters that wreaked havoc in the Indonesian island of Sulawesi hit the headlines, the Recoletos missionaries were already starting to acclimatize themselves to the routine of their new environment in Pontianak, at the extreme west of the island of Kalimantan (Borneo). Makassar Strait, a waterway…
Read MoreProvincial Curia, QUEZON CITY – After the rare opportunity, albeit relatively brief, to serve in the Recollect mission station in Bocas del Toro located in the northwestern part of Panama as well as in an OAR school in Panama City, the three Filipino Recollects could not help but express their deep gratitude: Thank you very…
Read MoreAntilla, Holguín, CUBA – The Augustinian Recollects arrived in Cuba on February 17, 2018, a Saturday. From a total of 32 volunteers, the General Office in Rome chose four friars to compose the international community: Fray Joel Naranja, Filipino, 54; Fray Jairo Gordillo, Colombian, 51; Fray Noe Servin, Mexican, 39; and Fray Ismael Xuruc, Guatemalan,…
Read MoreProvincial Curia, QUEZON CITY—A new day is breaking for the Augustinian Recollection in Asia as two lionhearted friars leave today, September 18, for their Indonesian mission. Fray Russell Lapidez, OAR and Fray Dominador Mercado, Jr., OAR, former missionaries in Sierra Leone, West Africa, volunteered to live and work “in a new country in Asia”—as the…
Read MoreKaoshiung, TAIWAN—On August 28, 2018, we were set to leave our convent in Daliao at 8am towards The Kenting Catholic Center (墾丁天主教中心), the venue of our annual Augustinian gathering in Taiwan. The place is approximately 2 hours drive from our convent. The community’s car is ready, packed of the things we might need for the…
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