International Novitiate

I spent the weekend at the Augustinian Novitiate which is located outside the town of Penonomé

Entrance to Novitiate

which is in Coclé province. This is the first time that the Panamanians have had their own novitiate. Until now the novitiate has been held in the Escorial Monastery outside Madrid, in Spain, or in either Chile or Colombia. The novitiate is a very important stage of the initial formation of all Augustinian friars. It is a one-year period (sometimes longer) during which the novices dedicate themselves to learning about prayer, the history of the Order, the spirituality of the Order, and the religious life in general. Having the novitiate here in Panama is a very significant step in the life of the Vicariate of Panama as it marks another milestone on their path towards becoming a Province of the Order in their own right.

The Novice Master is Fr. Raúl, one of the first Panamanians to join the Order. He is joined in the running of the novitiate by Br. Glen who is a Salvadorian (from Nicaragua).  He is known as the “Pedagogue”; his role is to assist the novices with the various studies that they undertake during the year.

There are 9 novices in the novitiate – 4 from Panama, 2 Cubans, 1 Salvadorian, 1 Nicaraguan, and 1 Colombian who is in formation as part of the Cuban Delegation. A very international group with a good spread of ages and experiences – one of the Cubans, for example, was a doctor in Cuba before he joined the Order.

There is also a community of six friars who run a secondary school on the same campus. This has the advantage of giving the novices contact with some other members of the Order and also being a support for those specifically involved in the formation programme.

I was there to give some talks to the novices, 3 in fact – one about the changing realities in which the church finds itself; the second about what it means to be a disciple, and what that might mean in the context of the Augustinians; and the third in which we looked at some of the ideas of St. Augustine in relation to these questions. Mercifully, all went well and we had lively discussions during and after each talk.

Br Glen - Pedagogue

I will say a little more tomorrow about some of the things the novices told me about their own countries – for the moment I will leave you with photos of the novices, their master, and their dog

Fr. Raul - Novice Master

Panama - Cuba - Panama

Colombia (for Cuba)

El Savador

Nicaragua

Cuba

Panama

 

Panama