Last November 7, our Augustinian nuns of Talavera de la Reina, Spain, had a very special meeting in the Clementine Hall with Pope Francis. We gather the information shared by Tiziana Campisi, from Vatican City, for the official media of the Holy See.
Remembering first of all the deceased and those affected by the very serious floods that affected the Valencian population due to the floods in November —223 deaths to date—, the Holy Father was able to be with the nuns and pilgrims who came to Rome in the midst of the 450th anniversary celebrations of this monastic community, founded by St. Alonso de Orozco in Spain, and which from its beginnings “has united the contemplative life with the service of Christian education”.
For this task, Pope Francis recommended to our religious “to always have in their hearts the needs of others,” recalling that there are people “who lack even the most basic things.”
“You come from Spain. In these days I am very close to Spain because of the tragedy in Valencia,” said the Pontiff, recalling the image of Our Lady of the Forsaken, patroness of Valencia, displayed on the stage of the Wednesday General Audience, before which he prayed for a few moments, placed a flower in the presence of the sisters. “There they are suffering very, very much”.
Teachers of prayer
Later, with the quiet strumming of a guitar and speaking a few minutes in Spanish with them, “I am happy to meet you”, the Pope was surprised to see a large representation of former students of the Sacred Hearts School of Talavera who wanted to accompany the nuns on this special day. In this regard, as he has done on previous occasions, the Holy Father pointed out how important it is for Christians to have God as a point of reference. “In this year dedicated to prayer, it seems to me a significant example of how our service and our apostolate, far from preventing us from encountering the Lord, must be born of Him.”
To this end, Pope Francis exhorted the Augustinian nuns “to always be examples of interior life, masters in the art of prayer” and “so that from their school years, among all the knowledge that can be transmitted to children, the ability to speak with God, to listen to Him, to feel Him present in every moment of life and to welcome His inspirations with docility are given due emphasis.”
Good humor in religious life
After warning against schools ending up “cocacolizing” knowledge and on the importance of restoring hope to a world in flames, the Holy Father wanted to recall how important a smile, good humor, is in the life of faith. “You must never lose your good humor. Holiness is always joyful, from the expressions of good humor of St. Philip Neri to the more prudent and discreet expressions of good humor, which is the smile; the smile that does not pretend and that comes from a heart that is always full.”
The monastic community of Talavera
The convent of nuns of Talavera de la Reina was founded on May 9, 1573 by St. Alonso de Orozco, a friar of the Order of St. Augustine. In it, his sister Francisca, a pious woman dedicated to works of charity, who had been widowed, wanted to lead a life of total dedication to God in meditation and prayer. From the first years of the foundation, girls and boys were admitted to the cloister and were educated according to the customs of the time, some embracing the religious life and others preparing for marriage. The monastic community developed the apostolate of education, while maintaining an intense contemplative life. Today, through the educational work at the Sacred Hearts College and pastoral work in the groups Friends of Augustine (children), Cor Unum (adolescents and young people), St. Monica (families) and St. Monica Community of Christian Mothers (parents), the nuns aim to accompany in the search for Truth, walk in an authentic evangelical fraternity and contribute with their lives to the construction of the civilization of Love.
In future issues we will delve into their history.
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