The former father in Asia, “near the listening and dialogue man”

Paolo Affato – Ciudad from the Vatican

Pope Liu XIV is not strange in Asia. One of the news that provokes hope between the believers and lands in the most vast and association, where two -thirds of humanity lives. His experience and his closeness to the Asian reality were particularly united during the period when Robert Francis Preveost was a general before the command of San Agoustin, and as responsible for society, he was called to visit and accompany societies and Agostin missions around the world.

Augustine in Asia

Augustine monks have a long and rich history in Asia. They established tasks in the Philippines, Japan, China, Vietnam, India, South Korea and Indonesia. Today, they have established societies, thanks to the local professions that allowed this to unify and take over a prominent Asian face. Augustine arrived in Asia in the sixteenth century, especially to the Philippines, where they are considered among the first matches of the archipelago, and then sought their presence to include other parts of the continent. They often worked in the first preaching contexts, as there was no Christian presence. His missionary mission, in addition to declaring Christ and pastoral service, focused mainly on education, defending the rights of the poor and marginalized, and dialogue between cultures.

Visit the Philippines in 2010

In more than five hundred years of task, the religious has sought its presence and continues to work in various countries such as Japan, India, South Korea and Indonesia. “This legacy is very present in the human, spiritual, and pastoral luggage of Pope Liu XIV,” says Father Anthony Banks, a delegate to Asia in the General Council of Saint Augustine. “During his service as a former general, for twelve years, he was able to know, appreciate and appreciate by the Uglisen societies scattered throughout the continent, where he has the opportunity to repeat different contexts and cultures, and immerses himself in the millennial, religious and cultural traditions of Asia,” and emphasizes. In Asian lands, as in other parts of the world, the religious family extends to nuns and people who follow the same spirituality. Therefore, the previous prevostos contacts were wide and varied, and are always open to pastoral, educational and social facts related to Augustine missions. OSA province in the Philippines, Dante M. Bendoy, recalls that Robert Francis, during his visit to the Philippines in 2010, “left an uncomfortable impression, especially for his warm presence and modesty.”

Pope Liu XIV and India

From India, Father Stephen Al -Dawad, Deputy Secretary -General of the Latin ritual bishops conference, told FIDES: “Liu fourteenth in India with charity, as a simple man, who knows how to adapt to local conditions. Everyone describes him as a man of listening and dialogue, a person with spirituality and deep human relationships. Above all, all of them affected the fact that he spent long hours in the Eucharist in silence. ” My father’s visit to India, in 2004 and 2006, included many societies in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Indian religious recalls that in 2006, it took the time in the future to visit the school run by the Augustine parents in the diocese of Kevatbur, in Tamil Nadu, where moments participated with children and youth. He also wanted to meet the parish community in Saint Thomas in Thuabuza, in the diocese of Calicot, in Kerala. “We hope to receive it again in India as Leo XIV,” says Arahara.

Stories from Indonesia and Japan

Augustine also remembers in Indonesia the meetings they were exposed to during his visit to local societies in 2003. Father Jean -Peter Fatem, who is currently responsible for Babua Varerett, is known as a “real person who lived with the life of the great enthusiasm, a man full of love and good listener. As a brother, he was always considered an example of how to embody the spirituality of Augustine. ”

The religious people who knew him during his five trips to South Korea consider him a “moderate person, a bearer of unit, who knows how to coordinate various sensitivities and tensions.” In Japan, Father Brevost’s side was very present, says Father Banks, “The history of Agostina’s presence in Japan was characterized by the testimony of many members during periods of religious persecution.” In addition, he remembered that “Nagasaki was deeply moving, thinking about the victims of the atomic bomb. His presence was always bearing hope.”