A Visit with our Students in Spain
Novitiate class of 2006-07, Monteagudo:
Frs. John Gruben and Michael Rafferty (back row) join novices in the convent cloister.
“Sorry about the delay;” the pilot’s voice blared over the
intercom, “there were forty planes lined up ahead of us.” . . .
That, at least, explained the one-hour delay on the runway at Newark Liberty
Airport. It was after 9:00 PM on Sunday, March 25 when we finally took off.
Fr. Michael Rafferty was my traveling companion on the seven hour trip to Spain
where we planned to visit with our students, Fra. Juan José Alfaro, a
simple professed studying philosophy in Madrid, and Fra. Eduardo Rodríguez,
a novice in Monteagudo. Upon our arrival in Madrid around midmorning, March
26, we were met by Br. Alberto Eraña, who drove us the short distance
from Barajas Airport to the new house of formation of St. Nicholas Province,
Seminario San Agustín, located in Las Rozas, a suburb of the Spanish
capital. Along the way we could see the new commercial and residential development
springing up all around the outskirts of Madrid.
We were graciously welcomed at the front door by the prior, Fr. Marciano Santervás,
the prefect of professed, Fr. Francisco Jiménez, and by the other senior
members of the seminary community. Of course, in saying we were met “at
the door” it is necessary at “Las Rozas”—as the seminary
is commonly known—to qualify whether you are referring to the “Casa
Alta” or the “Casa Baja”, since the seminary actually consists
of two separate buildings on a sloping piece of property: the upper one, presenting
the elegance of a classical villa constructed of beautifully cut stone and featuring
turrets and curving marble balustrades—obviously at one time the private
residence of an affluent family—and the lower one, a modern institutional-style
structure which had formally been the convent for a group of nuns. Comfortably
settled in the lower house nearest to the entrance way, we were given a tour
of the seminary facilities, which, for the past two years has been the successor
of the venerable Marcilla in Navarra that had educated generations of Recollects
and is now in use as a conference and retreat center. We soon learned that the
new seminary complex in Madrid is not complete, since a third building is projected
for construction this coming summer.
Upon our arrival at Las Rozas we found that the philosophy and theology students—about
twenty-five in all—were still attending classes, which are taken at El
Escorial, a vast conglomeration of fortress-like buildings which house not only
the famous royal palace of King Philip II, but also the Augustinian convent
and school of theology, affiliated academically with the University of Salamanca.
The professed students arrived home before 2:00 PM, when lunch is served. We
had a very happy reunion with Fra. Juan José, with whom I had only communicated
by email for the past year, as well as meeting the other students. We had already
met the postulants, who are also in residence at Las Rozas and who currently
number six. Fr. Michael and I were both amazed by the international character
of the student body, and most especially the number of Chinese students among
both the professed and the postulants. These Chinese students, we found out,
are studying Spanish at a nearby institute in preparation for their further
studies.
From the beginning of our visit we experienced the joyful and positive spirit
prevailing in the community while, at the same time, recognizing the demanding
and challenging character of the academic and other requirements faced by the
formation community. We conformed our own activities as much as possible with
the house schedule—joining the community for Mass, prayers, meals, and
recreation—finding time in between for a visit to El Escorial to familiarize
ourselves with the facilities and academic program. We were also able to squeeze
in an afternoon paseo with Fra. Juan José through downtown Madrid,
stopping at the metropolitan cathedral, the Palacio Real, and other points of
interest.
After spending several days at Las Rozas we made our way to Atocha, the main
train station of Madrid, for the two and a half hour trip to Monteagudo. We
arrived at the convent around 9:15 PM on Wednesday, March 28 just as the community
was finishing the evening meal. We were warmly greeted by Fra. Eduardo and the
other 16 novices of the class of 2006-07 as well as by the prior, Fr. Miguel
Ángel Tejada, the novice master, Fr. Ricardo Mediavilla, and other community
members before being immediately seated for dinner. Neither of us needed a tour
of the novitiate facilities since Fr. Michael had made his novitiate there and
I was familiar with the house from frequent visits over the years. The following
day Fr. Miguel Ángel, however, did show us something which neither of
us had not seen before: a magnificent new museum set up near the main entrance
to the chapel dedicated to Augustinian Recollect missionaries and, in particular,
to St. Ezekiel Moreno. The museum was extremely well organized and appointed,
directing the visitor by way of photographs, writings, and artifacts through
the principal phases of the life of Bishop Moreno. As in Madrid, we greatly
enjoyed joining the community for daily activities: Mass and prayers, meals,
and convivencia.
While in Monteagudo we had the opportunity to revisit the local parish church,
accompanied by the pastor, Fr. José María Lorenzo, and to see
the many improvements that had been made there, as well as to view the new housing
developments springing up in town, which were surprisingly reminiscent of suburban
housing tracts in California. Next on the agenda was a brief visit with the
Missionary Augustinian Recollect sisters (MAR) just down the street from the
novitiate. It was good to see the sisters, who were in their usual good spirits
in spite of a rapidly aging community with few new vocations in sight. After
our visit with the sisters we made it back to the novitiate just in time to
catch a surprise, arranged by Fra. Eduardo: a mini-concert of English hymns
performed by his English class (taller) of six fellow novices. On our
last full day in Monteagudo we made the short trip to Marcilla with Fr. Ricardo
where we ran into a major traffic jam due to reconstruction of the main street.
Upon entering the wide halls of the former seminary we found several of the
friars, including Fr. Jesús Diez, piling huge mounds of olive branches,
freshly cut from the grounds, in preparation for Palm Sunday. We then went looking
for the prior, Fr. José Manuel Bengoa, who happily greeted us before
offering us a welcome cup of coffee and an opportunity to briefly greet the
other members of the community. One of the high lights of our visit was a tour
of the museum which has been under construction for several years and contains
a marvelous collection of art works gathered from the missions, especially from
the Philippines and China. That evening, after returning to Monteagudo, we met
with the novices and shared with them news from St. Augustine Province as well
as the progress of the cause of beatification of Bishop Alphonse Gallegos.
We returned to Madrid and Las Rozas on Saturday, March 31, remaining there
until our departure for the US on April 3. Upon arriving in Madrid we stopped
for a brief visit at St. Rita Parish where the pastor, Fr. José Manuel
Berruete, greeted us and gave us a brief tour of this unique church-in-the-round
and crypt with its magnificent paintings by Juan Barba, whose work we had also
seen in Marcilla. As we were about to leave St. Rita’s we were happily
surprised to see our former Prior General, Fr. Javier Pipaón, now in
residence in the parish, and to chat briefly with him about his current work.
On Palm Sunday we participated in a beautiful service with an outdoor procession
from the “upper” to the “lower” house with the community
members and guests carrying olive branches after the solemn Gospel reading of
Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. Fr. Francisco Javier Monroy,
prefect of postulants, was main celebrant for the Mass. The procession and liturgy
were accompanied by the music of the excellent seminary choir. Fr. Michael acted
as one of the readers for the proclamation of the Passion. The liturgy was followed
by a sumptuous lunch including traditional paella. After lunch we bid
farewell to Fra. Juan José who was leaving with the other professed for
a three day mini-retreat outside Madrid. On Monday, our final full day in Spain,
we ventured into the city on our own, managing to get lost in the metro but
finally reaching our goal: Retiro Park. The weather, which had been overcast
and rainy all week, turned spring-like that day, enabling us to enjoy the beauties
of the park along with a great many Madrileños who seemed to have the
same idea as we did.
We left Las Rozas early on Tuesday morning to catch our return flight to the
US, Br. Alberto acting once again as our most accommodating chauffer to the
airport. We carried with us many happy memories of our visit with our Recollect
brothers, of their hospitality and wonderful spirit of community, as well as
the assurance that our students studying abroad are most definitely in good
hands.
Fr. John Gruben, OAR
for other stories, visit our news
archive
