Last night I went to stay with the Augustinians at their seminary which is called St. Thomas of Villanova (Patron of studies for the Order). It is located to the north of the city in an area known as Villa Zaita. This place was, until relatively recently, outside the city, as is evidenced by the fact that all the properties here have some sort of garden. The Augustinians have what would amount to a small field which they use in various ways: fruit for the house is grown there; there are a number of meeting points for groups to meet and discuss whatever it is they are reflecting on; and there is also a small concrete area for playing "mini football".
This is where the Panamanian Augustinians do their pre-novitiate - a two-year period during which they learn about Augustinian Spirituality; are introduced to the practice of private and community prayer; share responsibility for the care of the house; and generally are introduced to what Augustinian life is all about. During this time they also complete their philosopical studies at St. Joseph's Major Seminary (the place where I live while I am here).
There are currently 23 pre-novices in the house. This is a very significant number when you consider that the diocesan equivalent, the Preparatory Seminary (what would have been known years ago as the Minor Seminary) has only 8 students in residence. The Augustinians appear to do better than any diocese or other religious Order/ Congregation in Panama when it comes to getting vocations.
They are a lovely bunch of lads and it is always a pleasure to visit them. From my point of view, it is just not practical to live there as it would mean that teaching in the seminary and the lay institute would become very complicated logistically (I don't drive here and, while people are really very generous with their time, it would be very difficult to get someone to collect me from Villa Zaita and bring me back each time - just not doable).
Most of the lads are from Panama. There is one Columbian, one Nicaraguan, and there may be other nationalities that I didn't notice or hear about. Four of the students are from the Comarca. This is an area of Panama that is inhabited by the indigenous peoples who live here. In fact, it is more than living there - they enjoy, essentially, a sort of semi-independence, not unlike home rule. They have their own (traditional) system of justice and local administration based around the Cacique (chieftain) system. There are a number of different languages and quite distinct cultures among the indigenous peoples here in Panama and, so far successfully, they live in parallel to the more "mainstream" society. It is a great testament to the work that the Augustinians have done in their mission area of Tole to see that so many of these young men from a culture that is so different from that of most members of the Order, are willing to try this form of religious life.
Yesterday we did a lot of talking together, prayed and had Mass together, and even played chess and dominos - put I drew the line at football: that would have been a step too far for me.
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