OALA - Organización de los Agustinos de América Latina
"Comunidad agustiniana comprometida con la fe, la misión y el servicio en latinoamerica."
OALA - Organización de los Agustinos de América Latina
"Comunidad agustiniana comprometida con la fe, la misión y el servicio en latinoamerica."
"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you" St. Augustine. Confessions, Book I, Chapter 1.
Organization of the Augustinians of Latin America
It is built upon the Augustinian charism, rooted in the spirituality of St. Augustine, and is expressed in fraternal communion, ecclesial service, and commitment to the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The mission of the Augustinians in Latin America and the Caribbean is to live and proclaim the Gospel from the spirituality of St. Augustinepromoting fraternal community, el service to the Church and commitment to the poorestespecially through education, pastoral ministry, vocational discernment and the integral formation of the personin dialogue with the cultures of the continent and in communion with Latin American ecclesial processes.
- Poverty
- Chastity
- Obedience
A critical mission that consists of discerning the major trends in society with a prophetic spirit, so that the Order may better serve and adapt to irreversible changes. A critical mission that exposes what is preventing us from remaining faithful to our radical vocation of liberation.
The mission of animation is based on the spirit of communion, where we sow the seeds of encouragement, support, and guidance throughout our lives, fostering a living relationship with the Church and with local churches.
The Mission of Coordination brings forces together, uniting all the brothers of Latin America—beyond limitations and legal circumscriptions—in the common task of the Church to which we have been called, while maintaining a balance between our internal family communication and the incarnational communication demanded of us by our Church and our specific environment. OALA does not unite to absorb, but to promote, situate, and give meaning (Third Assembly, Quito, 1973).
History
The Augustinians’ presence in Latin America comenzó en el siglo XVI con la llegada de los primeros misioneros en 1533 a México, extendiéndose luego a Perú, Centroamérica, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile y otras regiones. Durante los siglos XVI y XVII fundaron conventos, colegios, universidades y misiones, dejando una fuerte huella educativa, cultural y espiritual, especialmente en los pueblos originarios.
En los siglos XIX y XX, muchos conventos fueron cerrados o expropiados por los cambios políticos, pero la Orden vivió una renovación misionera con la llegada de nuevos religiosos y el surgimiento de vocaciones locales.
En 1968, inspirados por el Concilio Vaticano II, se fundó la Organización de Agustinos de América Latina (OALA), que fortalece la comunión, la formación, el compromiso social y la fidelidad al carisma agustiniano en todo el continente.
