Year of Augustinian Recollect: Educational Apostolate starts

CEBU, Philippines - The Order of Augustinian Recollects renewed commitment to further infuse educational apostolate into the academe.

This, as the OAR launched the International Year of Augustinian Recollect Educational Apostolate yesterday at University of San Jose-Recoletos Coliseum in Basak campus, in time of St. Augustine’s feast day.

The Order’s Prior Ge-neral Reverend Father Miguel Miro, OAR, with the approval of the General Council, proclaimed August 28, 2015 to August 28, 2016 as the International Year of the Augustinian Recollect Educational Apostolate.

“Today (yesterday) marks a huge milestone for the Augustinian Recollects in the Philippines… We are very auspicious that we launched this year’s long celebration with our very own spiritual father Saint Augustine,” said USJ-R President Reverend Father Christopher Maspara.

The OAR Constitutions stipulate that the educational apostolate makes the Church present in the education institution.

Maspara said they will intensify efforts to make the presence and importance of educational apostolate felt in the academe.

“We once again, we have to work for decisive and definitive commitment to ce-lebrate our mission for invitational apostolate,” he said.

This year, he said they are targeting of reclarifying, establishing and passing on an understanding and concrete grasps of Augustinian pedagogy among the teachers and students.

He also said that they will also look into the reaffirmation of what the Augustinian Recollects ministry needs.

“We must also this year reiterate the very objective of our paradigm of education is evangelization,” he said.

Maspara hopes that  everyone would gradually be renewed and revitalized with God’s guidance and St. Augustine’s ideals in molding one’s mind and heart.

Moreover, the Educational Plan of the Order (EPO) and the OAR Religious Graduate Attributes (RGAs) were also unveiled.

The stakeholders of every Recollect school, students and teachers took part in a ceremonial signing of commitment.

The Order, which maintains presence in 19 countries including the Philippines, is behind the management of USJ-R and its seven other sister schools.

These are the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Manila, San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Cavite, Colegio de Santo Tomas-Recoletos, Colegio San Nicolas de Tolentino-Recoletos, San Pedro Academy-Recoletos, and San Pedro Academy. — Kristine B. Quintas/LPM (FREEMAN)