Father Riverito: belonging wholly to God, so to serve the People of God

Opening of the boxes containing the documentation of the Diocesan Phase of the Cause of the Servant of God Friar Serapio Rivero Nicolás, O.S.A.

Rome, April 28, 2026. 

At the headquarters of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the boxes containing the Transumptum and the Public Copy of the diocesan inquiry in the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Friar Serapio Rivero Nicolás, O.S.A., a professed priest of the Order of Saint Augustine, were opened today.

Fray Serapio Rivero Nicolás was born in Bercianos del Real Camino (León, Spain) in 1917 and died in Lima (Peru) in 2002. Assigned to Peru in 1943, he arrived in Chosica the following year. There, “Father Riverito”, as he was affectionately called, carried out for decades an intense apostolate between the school and the parishes served by the Augustinians: a faithful minister of the sacraments, a confessor and a spiritual father to many souls, and an example of religious life through his humble, hardworking, self-giving, simple, and joyful manner—traits that are proper to and essential in Augustinian life.

The diocesan phase of the Cause, begun in 2022, was completed and carefully prepared under the postulation of Fr. Josef Sciberras, O.S.A. Once the instruction was concluded, the boxes containing the entire canonical documentation (including the Transumptum and the duly authenticated Public Copy) were delivered to the Dicastery in December 2025 by Fr. Javier Pérez Barba, O.S.A., Secretary General of the Order.

With today’s opening, the Cause formally enters its Roman phase. The first step will be the ordinary juridical examination leading to the Decretum super validitate Inquisitionis dioecesanae (Decree on the juridical validity of the diocesan inquiry). We gratefully acknowledge the work carried out in Chosica by the Augustinian community and by the faithful and specialists appointed to the Tribunal and the Historical Commission, who conducted the diocesan inquiry with diligence and seriousness, with genuine love for the Church and for our Order, and for the life and memory of Father Riverito.

Once validity is obtained, the Dicastery will proceed to the appointment of the Relator, and the General Postulation will prepare and submit the Positio (the official dossier that organizes and presents the evidence regarding the heroic virtues and the reputation for holiness of the Servant of God). With this step, the Cause will continue on its path in the Roman phase, according to the Dicastery’s praxis.

Fray Justo Díaz Villarreal, OSA, and Fray Alexander Lam Alania, OSA

Present at the simple ceremony, and leading the opening prayer, was Fr. Alexander Lam Alania, O.S.A., Vicar General of the Order and a member of the Province of Our Lady of Grace of Peru.

We invite everyone to accompany this step with prayer, and to preserve with living gratitude the memory of the Servant of God Fr. Serapio Rivero Nicolás, whose priestly and Augustinian witness continues to bear fruit in the People of God.

Fr. Justo Díaz Villarreal, Postulador General O.S.A.