The Augustinian nuns at the 188th General Chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine: “It is necessary for young people to see communities that pray and love one another.”

On the afternoon of Friday, September 12, the presidents of three of the five federations of Augustinian contemplative nuns worldwide had the opportunity to share with the capitular friars a detailed account of the uniqueness of their charism and of “the treasure” of interiority—as Pope Leo XIV once described it—which they safeguard.

It was the outgoing Prior General, Fr. Alejandro Moral, OSA, who offered an overview of the federations of Augustinian nuns within the Order, underlining their importance and significance as an integral part of the Augustinian family.

He then introduced the Mothers Mónica Gianfrancesco, of the Federation of Nuns of Italy; Laura Durán Domínguez, of the Spanish Federation of Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Alonso de Orozco; and Prado González Heras, of the Federation of the Conversion of St. Augustine. Each presented an overview of her own federation as well as that of the other federations whose presidents were unable to attend.

During the meeting, our Mothers spoke of their expectations in relation to the friars of the Order of St. Augustine. They expressed their joy at all they had been able to share and to discover about the presence of Augustinians in different parts of the world.

Within a Synodal Context

“It has been very beautiful,” remarked Mother Prado. “A most generous invitation on the part of the Fathers. We have given and shared what we are.

”Mother Laura, for her part, noted that it was an occasion to encounter experiences previously unknown to them: “What is not known is not loved. We carry these experiences and these people with us into our daily prayer.”

Both emphasized that this gathering, this assembly, was an opportunity to speak and to situate themselves within the broader synodal process currently underway in the universal Church. “It is very important to foster this atmosphere of wanting to build together, of coming to know one another,” they observed.

“We have always been invited to take part in their meetings as members of the Order, but never in this way. Out of the five existing federations, three of us were present, and we were called to participate in their reality and to offer our contribution—as an exchange of gifts, of questions, of knowledge, of possibilities…”

Their Story: Ever Ancient, Ever New

The presence of the three sisters at the General Chapter was marked by their role as presidents of their federations—institutions whose functioning, organization, and way of life they consider to be largely unknown. “I would like to stress that these are structures of communion,” emphasized Mother Prado. “Both Mother Laura and I are invited by our sisters to safeguard unity among the monasteries, to preserve the charism, to accompany, to support. It is not a role of governance, but of fraternity.”

“Each of the three of us represents a distinct history and reality,” added Mother Laura. “The Italian federation has a strong eremitical and monastic tradition. It is an older federation, as is ours. Mother Prado’s federation is more recent, with a different character. What is beautiful is that the Fathers were able to perceive the richness of the Second Order: the freshness of a federation just beginning, the distinctive charism of the Italian tradition, and the collaborative spirit of ours, which centers on mutual support among monasteries.”

The Federation of Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Alonso de Orozco encompasses fifteen convents—fourteen in Spain and one in Panama. In recent years they have lived remarkable experiences of solidarity, whereby stronger monasteries have supported communities in greater need: “It was moving that the brothers could recognize this dynamic and that we could speak of this charismatic flow, in which life always prevails.”

We asked the two presidents, in conversation, about their meeting with Pope Leo XIV, and about the questions: How does one support a community facing an uncertain future? How does one accompany such a situation with hope? “Support comes through generosity—sustaining people, or through new possibilities emerging within the Church, such as affiliations. Some communities reach a point where they can no longer sustain themselves alone, and then a stronger community affiliates them and offers support, to see whether the community can thereby move forward.”

A Community that Prays and Lives Fraternity

In their exchange with the capitular friars, the issue of vocations arose, particularly in today’s context of retrenchment. This, together with the current anthropological crisis, makes it difficult to raise questions that point toward transcendence.

In this regard, Mother Laura was unequivocal: “It is not we who attract; it is God within us. Young people need to see communities that pray and that love one another. The ‘See how they love one another’ of the early Christians remains ever relevant. For in prayer we place the young before God. What we must prioritize is, first, to set them before God, and second, to show them models of love lived in community. In our apostolates, people must perceive not an individual, but a community standing before the Lord, praying, centering everything on Him, and loving Him. This is the key.”

“It is not a project that builds the Church,” Mother Prado underscored, “but the lived reality of the Gospel. In the Gospel of John we read, That they may all be one, so that the world may believe. And for this reason we live together in community—to be of one soul in God.”

Called to the Contemplative Life

In this session of the General Chapter, the three representatives of the federations of contemplative Augustinian nuns also addressed a particular request to the friars of the Order.

“We strongly emphasized that the contemplative religious spirit is for everyone,” insisted Mother Prado. “It is not a status reserved for one sector of the Church. We are all called to this contemplative life, in which we are able to behold the face of God. We asked that interior life and prayer not be displaced by an overburdening of external service.”

Both explained that fraternal life, together with contemplative life, sustains every ministry: “Contemplative life helps us to see the face of the other. It opens our eyes and our ears, enabling us to hear the cry of humanity and to recognize the person who needs to be cared for. But the friars, too, are called to this.”

Mother Laura added that they had asked the Augustinian friars to take a more active role in accompanying the nuns with sound doctrine.

In this encounter, the voices of the contemplative Augustinian nuns not only enriched the process of common discernment but also reminded the entire Order that contemplation, fraternal communion, and attentiveness to the Spirit constitute the true path of walking together and of bringing God to the young. For only a life rooted in God and lived in community can the Church continue to shed light in a world thirsting for meaning.