Seeking God’s will, Faustino Míguez, Piarist

Sacramento Calderón

Seeking God’s will, Faustino Míguez, Piarist

www.edicionescalasancias.org

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Seeking God’s will, Faustino Míguez, Piarist

Author: Sacramento Calderón

Publicaciones ICCE

(Instituto Calasanz de Ciencias de la Educación)

Conde de Vilches, 4 - 28028 Madrid

www.icce.es

ISBN: 978-84-7278-???-?

Depósito legal: M-?????-201?

Imprime: Villena Artes Gráficas

Translator: Fr. Antonio Marco Moreno Sch. P.

Copyright is reserved.

Reproduction, publication and distribution, whether total or partial, of all the original material contained in this book is expressly forbidden unless written authorization has been given.

For further information contact: www.icce.es

To each and every one of the sisters of the Congregation,

especially to Julia García and her Council;

to the Pious School, which Faustino Míguez loved so deeply;

and to all of us who with grateful hearts praise God

for the love and dedication of the one

who knew how to be a man of the people

and for the people.

Presentation

We are in the year of the beatification of Father Faustino Míguez, Piarist and Founder, educator and scientist. And we are setting out to celebrate such an important event. Father Faustino himself becomes a pilgrim with us and speaks to our hearts. As we listen to him, we feel his own fire burning within us: his passion to live his Piarist vocation to the full, his dream of freedom for children and young people and especially for women, “the most interesting part of society”, his love of science to free from pain, the risk of living in expectation of the Father’s will, which is always the will to give life, his desire to follow Jesus with evangelical radicalism.

This book is like a source of fresh water for our daily journey. Sacramento Calderón brings us the word and the gaze of Father Faustino, the living landscape of this faithful son of Calasanz. It is full of love and deep knowledge of his life. Each page has an inner melody that has been recreated in his own heart. Let us enjoy and refresh ourselves as we read and follow his biography from Galicia to Andalusia, from Sanlúcar to Getafe, from … It would almost be better to make an outline of their comings and goings. At that time, the mobility of religious was greater due to the urgency of the mission.

Let us get on the train that travels slowly through mid-19th century Spain and on the ship that arrives in Cuba after a long journey. There is time for a quiet conversation. And in the meantime, he tells us how he loved the Pious Schools, how the girls of Sanlúcar who stole his heart, looked at him, what light illuminated his soul on so many dark nights, in what apostolic fire he wanted to keep the hearts of his religious burning “so that they would seek and guide so many children and young people, without other weapons” than charity and even at the risk of their own lives”, how he knew how to grow old with pen and paper in his hand and the burning lamp of his heart.

On this journey, there will be time to talk to him about our hopes and fears, about our children and young people. It will be good for us to prepare the conversation because it will become a test and he will judge how “patiently and lovingly we work for them until we win them to Jesus Christ”, whether the pedagogy of love and encouragement is the hallmark of our educational centers, whether the little ones and the simple ones have a privileged place in our hearts.

Yes, it is time to set out to revitalize our Calasanzian vocation, to revitalize our fraternity and to carry the mission into our hearts. The bells are already ringing. Our gaze becomes grateful to God and we sing with the psalmist: “I love my heritage”.

M. Julia García Monge

Superior General

Who is Faustino Míguez?

This is always the first question that arises when we want to delve into the lives of those people who attract our attention and arouse in us the curiosity to find out what led them to act; how they acted in the various situations of their lives; what resonates in them, what ideals they had.

If we now try to approach the life of Father Faustino Míguez, we ask ourselves once again: Who was he? And as if in a flash, we dare to describe him as a person who was simple, even unknown to some, but great, even without a title, for his love, for his simplicity, for his dedication to “the little ones”. Great, first and foremost, because she knew how to look at the world from a different perspective, with the eyes and heart of God, which filled her whole life and made her completely happy.

Like the Samaritan in the Gospel, he did not pass by the child and the young person who needed guidance and direction, not by the marginalized woman, not by the person who was suffering in body, not by the person who needed comfort, forgiveness and a listening ear, nor by the many others he met along the way. He approached them, welcomed them and responded to them because they all occupy “a privileged place” in the heart of God.

A life that springs from the embers of love

One place, some people

In Galicia, in the province of Orense, and near Celanova, the village of the majestic monastery of San Rosendo, lies Acebedo del Río. It is a parish made up of several villages and is dedicated to Saint George. A small stream flows through it towards the Arnoya River and there are many holly trees in its vegetation; two details in which we should look for the origin of its name.

One of the villages that give life to the green and generous nature of these valleys is Xamirás. The Míguez González family lives there. Their house is surrounded by pastures with fruit trees. Benito Míguez and María González are a generous and self-sacrificing couple who know the meaning of work and commitment. They are dedicated to agricultural work and are good Christians. They are open to nature, to life and to God and have received the fruits of their marital love with joy in their home: Carmela, Antonio, José and the youngest, Manuel. This will be the future Father Faustino. He was born on March 24, 1831. He will be baptized in the parish church the day after his birth, on 25th March, the Feast of the Incarnation. He received the sacrament of confirmation on October 24, 1832, not even two years old, as part of the pastoral visitation of the Bishop of Orense, Msgr. Dámaso Iglesias Lago.

Life in Xamirás is quiet and smooth. There is time for everything and everyone. Every morning and every evening, God is present in the houses with the silent prayer of the families gathered around the fire. The parish church is the center, the point of attraction for all the inhabitants of the valley. Its bells mark the rhythm of life and work: the ringing of the dawn chimes, the Angelus, the evening prayer. The neighbors attend the Eucharist on Sundays and on some days of the week and pray to God for the dead buried around the church.

“The house of the family of the Servant of God was a house of virtues, recognized by all its neighbors”[1]. In it, Manuel internalized one of the main lines of his future spirituality, the love of Mary under the invocation of Our Lady of Sorrows. The picture occupies a privileged place in the chapel of San Cipriano, which is closer to the Míguez family home than the parish church. How often Manuel prostrated himself before the Mother of Heaven by his mother’s hand! Mary will always be a key in Manuel’s life.

1 Summarium Super Dubio, Proc-ord. Matriten (Summarium), p. 19.

In this family atmosphere and the simple and warm faith, the tree took root that would later bear such good fruit and in which so many found shelter. Manuel started his first years of school like any other child his age at the municipal school. To get there, he had to walk, in the heat or cold, under the protection of his elders in his early years, or in charge of the little ones when he was already an adult. School work was combined with the tasks reserved for the younger ones in the family environment.

A supportive teenager

The youngest child of the Míguez family grows up, matures and spends his life studying, working in the fields, meeting up with his friends, having fun with the gang and praying. Like every boy his age in his village. And he still has time to work with the priest in catechizing the little ones. It is a simple gesture that has remained in his memory, as Father Anselmo recounts in his biography: “When he was older, he helped the parish priest explain Christian doctrine on Sundays and feast days and gave olives to the most gifted and diligent”[2] . We see how, even at a young age, he relies on encouragement as an educational element.

2 Del Alamo, Anselmo: Biografía del Siervo de Dios P. Faustino Míguez, Madrid 1975, p. 21.

Manuel is a restless, cheerful, companionable, helpful and determined young man. He discovers and loves the life he has been given, and even in the midst of the rough seas he finds himself in his adolescent phase, he realizes that only one thing is clear to him, and that is that he does not want to waste the gift he has been given.

He begins to wonder what he should do with it, what path he should take. The sunset with its beautiful sundown, a natural spectacle that he can contemplate every day, is a moment of encounter with himself for him; and his heart is filled with joy as he discovers within himself the desire to give his life to God, as a priest.

He was probably influenced by the decision of his brother Antonio, who, with the desire to become a priest, had already begun his studies in Latin and Humanities a year earlier in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Miracles on Mount Medo, about 30 km from Orense.

His brother José also wanted to follow the same path and Benito, the father, was very pleased on the one hand, but also very worried about who would then take over the family estate[3]. He looked for a solution to what seemed to be a difficult task given the intentions of his three sons: he drew lots to see who would be responsible for managing the estate. And the lot fell on José.

3 Summarium, p. 19.

Manuel left home at the age of sixteen to begin his studies in Latin and the humanities at the Shrine of Miracles with a clear goal: To become a priest. He leaves behind everything that is close to his heart: his parents, friends, classmates. His life is filled with the clean, fresh, healthy and simple air that his hidden village and family environment have given him. An air that he always knows how to preserve in his gestures, in his appearance, in his work and in his relationships, because it has entered him by osmosis.

At that time, there was a preceptory next to the shrine. It was the place where the students were trained to later enter the seminary. They stayed there for three years. The priests of the parish of San Juan de Vide were in charge of the shrine and the students were looked after by two priests. José María Martínez Pazos, administrator of the shrine between 1861 and 1869 and author of a book about this center, says: “Of the many benefits of the shrine, this was one of the most remarkable and of everlasting memory, not only for the parents of the students, but also for the students themselves, who never forgot the innocent, joyful and fraternal life they spent in Los Milagros”[4].

4 Martínez de Pazos, José María: Historia del célebre Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Milagros, Santiago 1891, p. 93.

Manuel was in the shrine from 1847 to 1850. His presence in this last year is confirmed by the parish priest of Acebedo, D. Felipe Sousa, in a report dated June 1850: “He is the son of respectable parents who live and work in agriculture, and Mr. Manuel is currently devoting himself to the study of grammar in the shrine of Los Milagros”[5].

5 Summarium, p. 241.

His brother Antonio was there until 1849, as can be seen from the testimony of D. Manuel Garrido dated September 24, 1849, which states that he completed his studies of grammar and Latin. During the academic year 1849-1850, he completed his first year of philosophy at the Orense seminary[6]. The last year Manuel did not enjoy the company of his brother at the shrine.

6 Data taken from the Archives of the Bishopric and the Seminary of Orense, by the Spirituality Commission of the Calasanzian Institute Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess.

In this center he learned Latin and mathematics, but also other skills, because “in the church the students served as sacristans, altar servers and intoners at the organ; they wound the clock, cleaned the church, rang the bells, in short, they did everything that was necessary in the house of God”[7].

7 Martínez de Pazos, José María, o.c., p. 94.

He grew in his love for the Virgin Mary, the raison d’être of this place, and from her he received the lesson of service, simplicity and fidelity.

During his stay at this center, Manuel distinguished himself as one of the best students, both for his studies[8] and for his human and religious qualities. At home he had learned to show solidarity with those in need, and now he is helping a friend who also needs help with his studies. It is a glimpse of an educational vocation that is still veiled for Manuel at this point. Father José Olea Montes, a Piarist and great friend of Father Faustino, tells us, “Even as a student, he tried to help the less fortunate students or classmates so that they could get on the same level in the disciplines they were cultivating.[9]”

8 Summarium, p. 20.

9 Summarium, p. 11.

He lived in the sanctuary with Fray Teodoro Feijoo, a Franciscan friar who had settled there after the suppression of religious orders in 1835. He was famous for his love of herbs. He used them to make a liqueur containing more than thirty plants, which he allowed his friends and the students of the preceptory to taste in small quantities.

A young risk-taker

Manuel spent part of his youth in this shrine, a place of great Marian spirituality. Every day he participates in the recitation of the rosary and has the joy of experiencing the feast of Our Lady every year, which is celebrated on September 8th and is an expression of the devotion of the common people of the area. In the center there were several Marian associations whose spiritual flowering Manuel could observe as they enthusiastically prepared their celebrations.

And here, together with Mary, Our Lady of Miracles, Manuel experienced a simple event which God used to show him the life project to which he was calling him and which would be the beginning of an unforeseen path.

Manuel maintains close and good contact with one of his companions; they study together and thus help and encourage each other. This relationship becomes a sincere one of closeness and friendship. One day, which would undoubtedly imprint itself on Manuel’s heart, his friend received an unexpected visit from an uncle who was a priest and Piarist, and was introduced to him[10]. It was an encounter he would never forget, as it shaped and changed the course of his life. They talked for a while and, like a spark, the desire to become a priest and teacher in the spirit of Joseph Calasanz was born in the young Manuel. Such are the plans of God; he often uses insignificant events to show us his will.

10 Cerdeiriña, José: El P. Faustino Míguez, Madrid 1970, pp. 10-11.

Manuel prays, recognizes, asks for light and God lovingly reveals himself to him in his closeness. He recognizes more and more clearly that God is calling him to religious life. At the feet of Mary, the “Mother and Protectress “[11], he accepts the invitation to “come and follow me”, encouraged and strengthened by Our Lady of Miracles. He himself confesses this to us in a letter he wrote from El Escorial to Father General Calasanz Casanovas in 1874:

11 Pigretti, Mª Celia: Cartas del Siervo de Dios Faustino Míguez, (Ep.), Madrid 1985, n.5.

“That the Blessed Virgin Mary has led me to work in her favorite flock”[12].

12 Vilá Palá, Claudio: Documents presented for the Positio Super Virtutibus, (PSV), Rome 1984, p. 78.

And with the determination and single-mindedness that characterized him from his youth, he risked his life and put it at the service of the Kingdom of God, without putting obstacles in the way of what was presented to him as God’s will.

But the difficulties came from his own environment; his parents were against such a decision and even refused to support him financially:

“My good parents would neither leave me nor give me anything, and after testing me, they gave me and offered me more than I needed”[13].

13 Ep. no. 399.

He fights with all his strength to achieve his ideal and in the end, as he tells us himself, he receives the approval he most desires to follow the path to which he feels called. Right from the start, Manuel knows about obstacles, setbacks and, above all, how not to let them get him down. Now he just has to wait for the end of the course in the preceptory of the shrine to start his journey to Madrid.

The parish priest of Acebedo, D. Felipe Sousa, was asked by the Pious Schools for reports on the future aspirant and certified in June 1850 “that the young Míguez, his parishioner, was a subject of good life and habits, in which he showed true vocation for the state he intended to take”[14].

14 Summarium, p. 241.

A response to God from the surrender to the child and the youth: Piarist-priest

Manuel follows this call and leaves his homeland with a rucksack full of love, illusions and hope. He wants to follow Jesus, in the service of children and young people, in the style that characterizes the Order of St. Joseph Calasanz. Mary, who is now much more deeply rooted in his being, will accompany and encourage him on his new journey.

His Piarist formation

We do not know the exact date on which Manuel left home and went to Madrid to enter the novitiate of the Pious Schools of the Province of Castile. However, we do know that he put on the Piarist habit on December 5, 1850 and was received as a cleric on January 26th, 1851. He was determined and therefore, after completing his studies at the shrine, he did not want to wait any longer.

When he began his novitiate, Manuel, this boy from Acebedo del Rio, took the name Faustino the Incarnation. He never told us the reasons that led him to choose this new name. But we do remember two facts that are perhaps significant: He was baptized on 25th March, the feast of the Incarnation, and there is a hermitage dedicated to Our Lady of the Incarnation on the outskirts of Celanova. Given the proximity to his village, he may have prayed there more than once as a child. Eighteen years later, on August 15th, he preached a sermon on Our Lady of the Incarnation in the same hermitage.

He completed his novitiate at the School of San Fernando in Madrid, together with 17 other companions, including: José Benítez Rodríguez, Marcelino Ortiz, with whom he met again in Getafe in 1862, Antonio Miguel Escolano, with whom he lived after a few years in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and Luciano González Solís, who was also transferred to Guanabacoa.[15] His novice master was Father Pedro Álvarez, with whom he would later meet again in the communities of Cuba, Celanova and El Escorial, where he was master of the juniors[16]. The Rector was Fr. Inocente Palacios, a distinguished Piarist in Piety and Letters, who was very committed to the growth of the center[17].

15 “Catalogue of RR. Existing in the Province of Castile. Year 1851. Archivo Provincial Tercera Demarcación. Box 13. Madrid.

16 Diccionario Enciclopédico Escolapio (DENES), Salamanca 1983, vol.II, p. 49.

17 Ibid., p. 415.

Faustino began this new stage with joy and enthusiasm. He was characterized by his sense of responsibility in his studies and his desire to always walk in the air of God.

During the novitiate, the young men devoted themselves to learning the Latin language and the humanities, although the time they spent doing so depended on the previous instruction with which the aspirants presented themselves. As Faustino had completed the secondary basic education in the sanctuary, he began studying philosophy in the same year, 1851. He passed the Latin exam on January 3, 1851. This examination took place before he began his formal career. Those who were in formation during the novitiate period did not devote themselves to teaching, as was customary until 1847[18] .

18 Cfr. Alonso Marañón, Pedro Manuel: Escuelas Pías en España y en América. Formación del profesorado y expansión educativa, Guadalajara 1996, pp. 184-185.

When Father Faustino arrived at the School of San Fernando in 1850, the young professed Ramón Cabeza was studying theology there. When he finished his studies in 1853, he was appointed assistant to the novice master and teacher of the novices. Five years later, he was appointed to this position with a dispensation of age[19]. Father Faustino probably established a close relationship with him from these years onwards, which was to continue throughout his life.

19 DENES, vol. II, pp. 116-117.

For this reason, it seems important to us to take a few brushstrokes of the personality of Father Cabeza in the following text: “He always ate the same thing and never allowed himself the slightest excess. He got up very early in the morning and went to bed late, so that he hardly slept more than four hours a day. His habits were strict, he liked little socializing, although he was friendly in his dealings and did not lack the grace with which he spiced his conversation. He did not visit or receive visitors, except to discuss matters of interest.”[20] There is no doubt that we are dealing here with a man who wanted to respond to his Piarist vocation with radicalism and rigor, qualities that were also characteristic of Father Faustino’s life. He was in the early days of the American Pious Schools, a fact which we will come back to later.

20 Vilá Palá, Claudio: Calasanz Casanovas, Salamanca 1970, pp. 364-365.

After two years of this first phase of formation, he was admitted to solemn profession, which took place on January 16, 1853. It was received by Fr. Inocente Palacios, on behalf of Father Jacinto Felíu, Apostolic Commissioner of the Pious Schools of Spain. He renounces his goods on January 12, 1853; this was a necessary condition for all those who wanted to take their solemn vows.

Faustino does not have the pleasure of his parents being present on the day of his profession, but he knows that they are happy and close to his heart despite the physical distance. He does not forget that he owes them a large part of the joy he is experiencing at this moment.

He makes his profession according to the profession formula written by Joseph Calasanz. He consecrates himself to the three persons of the Trinity and the Virgin Mary. As was customary, he made a formal promise never to aspire to prelatures or ecclesiastical dignities.

He continued his theological studies during his juniorate, after he had made his solemn profession. He followed the plan of Father Jacinto Felíu, the Apostolic Commissioner of the Order, who was very concerned about the formation of the young Piarists because he knew that “the honor and life of our Corporation depends on the solid and always upright religious and literary leadership of our young professed brothers”[21].

21 Cueva, Dionisio: “El P. Jacinto Felíu en Zaragoza y su plan de estudios para los juniores escolapios”, Analecta Calasanctiana, 54 (1985), p.447.

It was a plan based on philosophy, theology and mathematics that lasted eight semesters. In this phase and in some cases, students practiced with the younger students of the schools in reading classes. For Faustino, then, it may have been the first more direct contact with the school[22]. Perhaps it is already at this time and through these studies that his scientific vocation gradually began to reveal itself. We will return to this point in the following chapters.

22 Ibid., p. 451.

He lives this period of training as a gift that he receives free of charge and whose results he must share with others as a Piarist through his teaching. He expresses this in the letter he writes to his brother Antonio on April 29, 1855:

“As far as my studies are concerned, I am missing Canon Law, which I will soon complete together with Chemistry and Natural History, which I am already studying. That is the rhythm of my studies, my brother, and not otherwise; than one teaches what one learns, always; you know that well “[23].

23 Pigretti, Mª Celia: Cartas del Siervo de Dios Faustino Míguez (Ep.), Madrid 1985, n.2.

We now give the list of subjects that Faustino studied during his priestly career, as well as the dates of the examinations[24]:

24 Alonso Marañón: o.c., pp. 545-546.

Date and Name of the subject in Felíu´s Plan

03/01/51 Latinity and Humanities

04/07/51 Arithmetic

10/07/51 Logic and Metaphysics

18/12/51 Religion and Morals (Moral Philosophy) and Metaphysics

03/23/52 Part and Conclusion of Algebra

06/30/52 Religion and Morality; Dogmatic Theology

05/10/52 Geometry

15/12/52 Dogmatic Theology

03/17/53 Trigonometry and Practical Geometry

06/27/53 Dogmatic Theology

06/08/53 Analytical Geometry

22/12/53 Dogmatic Theology and Differential and Integral Calculus

10/06/54 Mechanics

03/07/54 Moral Theology

19/04/55 Physics

16/07/55 Moral Theology

09/20/55 Chemistry and Natural History

09/22/55 Morals and Canons

Since the theological studies of morals had a somewhat smaller temporal and academic space, the conferences of morals were instituted, which were held by the young students, and so this deficiency was partially compensated. The one that was probably held by the young Faustino on this occasion has come down to us. Father Anselmo del Álamo, who presents it in the book “Habla el P. Fundador”, says that “because of the handwriting, it gives the impression that it corresponds to the first years of his priestly life”[25].

25 Del Álamo, Anselmo: Habla el Padre Fundador (HPF), Madrid 1984, p. 19.

As textbooks, he used the manuals by Guevara for logic, Balmes for metaphysics, Jacquier for ethics and Perrone for the treatises on moral theology. In mathematics he had the one written by the same Fr. Felíu. The manual of mechanics was that of Fr. Felíu´s teacher, José Mariano Vallejo. For the study of the canons, he followed Devoti[26].

26 Alonso Marañón: o.c., pp.190-192.

At the end of his formation in September 1855, he was assigned to the community of San Fernando as a teacher of writing in the second elementary school, due to his ability to write in Spanish or Piarist handwriting.

The end of his priestly preparation coincided politically with the so-called “progressive biennium”, 1854-1856. Espartero is in power. It was a tragic period for the Church. The nuncio and the Jesuits were expelled from the country, teaching establishments were harassed and seminaries were closed. The situation was such that Father Faustino received some minor orders in advance.

“So, I was ordained in Minors on December 23, 1854 and a subdeacon on the 24th of the same year. I did not share it with you, nor with our beloved fathers and brothers, because of the little flavor that accompanied us”[27].

27 Ep. n.2.

But none of this deterred him from his ideals of devotion. He was ready to sacrifice his life to God, “whatever the cost”.

He was ordained a deacon by the Cardinal of Toledo in 1855, and a priest by the Bishop of Burgo de Osma in the parish of Saint Mark in Madrid on March 8, 1856. His joy can be seen in the letter he wrote to his parents around this time:

“My beloved parents, I cannot but share with you the joy in which your hearts will overflow because two of your sons are servants of the Most High”[28].

28 Ep. n.3.

The first solemn Mass was celebrated in the church of the School of San Fernando on March 19, 1856, the feast of Saint Joseph.

Cuba: his first destination. Their “watchtower

The presence of the Piarists in Cuba was due to the political interest of the Spanish government, which wanted to keep the training of future teachers in Cuba, which was still a Spanish colony, in its hands and improve the teaching situation there. The creation of schools for teachers or Normal schools on the island was seen as an imperative necessity, as it was necessary to offer “a new and honorable career” to the youth, who in many cases went to the United States in search of what they needed and was an important focal point of independentist influence[29].

29 Alonso Marañón, Pedro Manuel: “La Escuela Normal de Guanabacoa y su reglamento interior para los alumnos”, Analecta Calasanctiana, 70 (1993), p. 299.

This foundation was also influenced by the interest of Antonio Mª Claret, the Archbishop of Havana, to have a Piarist school in his diocese. This was reflected in his visit to the San Anton school in Barcelona during one of his trips to Spain in December 1850, during which he declared that he would ask Queen Isabel II for it.

Fathers Bernardo Collaso and Agustín Botey, who traveled to Cuba in December 1856 started the procedures. In June 1857, they managed to define the Foundational Bases, some of which were as follows:

1. The Piarist Fathers will take over the Franciscan monastery of San Antonio de Guanabacoa with its church, orchard and associated lands in perpetual usufruct. They will establish their institute there and found a Normal School of Teachers with a corresponding practical school…”.

2. Once the choice of the monastery in Puerto Príncipe is formalized between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, with both parties signing a cession similar to that of San Francisco de Guanabacoa, a boarding school for first and second level of education will be established in Puerto Príncipe.

3. The fifth and last agreement states that the government will pay for the travel expenses of the Fathers and Brothers, the repairs of the buildings, the maintenance of the schools, the physics and natural history laboratories, the instruments for mathematics, astronomy and agriculture, and the establishment of a library”[30].
30 Vilá Palá, Claudio: Documentos Presentados para la Positio Super Virtutibus, (PSV), Roma 1984, pp. 27-28.

In view of the high number of religious required for this venture, Father Jacinto Felíu decided to send Piarists from the four Spanish provinces: three from Aragon, six from Catalonia, three from Castile and two from Valencia.

The Piarists sent from the Province of Castile included: Faustino Míguez, Luciano Solís, novitiate companions, and Pedro Díaz, who had recently made his profession[31]. They all became directly dependent on the Apostolic Commissioner. They were to remain on the island for eight years before returning to Spain and were given the right to be proposed for higher positions after this time.

31 Ibid., p. 20.

A new journey for Faustino. He realizes that he must always be prepared. The God he follows sends him on a journey into the unknown. He trusts completely. He knows that he has made his life available through his vow to the Order and offers what he has to offer: 26 years full of vitality and restlessness.

He embarked on the steamer Tharsis for Cuba, where he set foot on November 3, 1857. Hard work awaited him there. But he had the support of a community that included people with a great religious tradition, because the pillars of the emerging work had to be well consolidated: Fathers Collaso, Jofre, Querol, Clerch and many others.

This community was undoubtedly a great wealth at all levels for Faustino, who was still taking his first steps on his journey through religious life. In 1862 he would say “that it has a very good observance”[32].

32 Ibid., p. 57.

Living together was “difficult because of the peculiarities of so many different provinces”[33]. But Father Faustino always had a deep and pleasant memory of it. Even years after his return to Spain, he maintained correspondence with some of his former confreres in this community. In his writings, he mentions them with words of solidarity and affection. On the occasion of the Apostolic Visitation ordered in 1862, they asked him to appear before the Apostolic Visitator as spokesman for their feelings:

33 Ibid., p. 32.

“The same applies to the houses we have in the Antilles, from where some of my brothers in the Lord and former companions have written to me, who have been waiting with the greatest anxiety for the visitation and who have learned with great displeasure from the Apostolic Commissioner that he would not reach these schools, and who therefore ask me to kindly inform you of this and to ask you in advance to receive them kindly when they convey to you their support for the sentiments I have expressed and which, they assure me, are yours as well”[34].

34 Ibid., p. 58.

As for academic activities, Father Faustino taught agriculture, geography and history at the Normal School during the first four months of the 57-58 school year. In May of this past year, the teaching staff was reorganized, as some of them went with Father Agustín Botey to the Foundation in Camagüey. The subjects of agriculture, physics, chemistry and natural history were left him in charge. These are the subjects that determined his vocation and his activities for the rest of his life. In December, a second expedition of eleven religious arrived, among them Father Pedro Alvarez, his novice master.

The Normal School was governed by a General Regulation which, in its Chapter III, establishes four classes of students: the “normalistas” or prospective teachers, who must necessarily be boarders; the day pupils, who, without aspiring to a title, try to learn the teachings; the children, who attend the practical school, and the already established teachers, who try to perfect themselves. From the letter that Father Faustino writes from Guanabacoa to his mother and brothers, we know that he teaches the teachers:

“…the subjects I teach are nothing other than for men who have already been village teachers and will now belong to a higher category”[35].

35 Ep. n.6.

In the General School Regulations, much emphasis is placed on the practical nature of teaching. For this reason, at the Center, extraordinary attention is paid to practical exercises, going so far as to introduce horticulture and animal husbandry. In addition, the Normal School has a practical school where experiments are carried out with what it teaches. There was also an “internal regulation”, referred to in articles 74 and 75 of the General Regulation, for “the internal administration of the school, including everything to do with the order and distribution of instruction, discipline and economic management”.

The purpose of this was to achieve the maximum performance of the pupils[36]. This scientific, highly practical aspect of the school and the appropriate organization of the center’s activities characterized Father Faustino’s pedagogical-academic activity.

36 Alonso Marañón, Pedro Manuel: “La Escuela Normal de Guanabacoa y su reglamento interior para los alumnos”, Analecta Calasanctiana 70 (1993), pp. 307-308.

The mission required effort, and Faustino, who did not understand half measures, neither in being nor in doing, devoted himself fully to the educational task, even to the point of endangering his health. This is what he told his brother Joseph in a letter he wrote to him in 1859:

“In the doctor’s opinion, I am suffering from a liver attack, the result of the constant efforts I have to make with so many explanations, as my profession constantly demands”[37].

37 Ep. n.5.

In the same year, the establishment and operation of the Museum of Natural History (Biology) and the Physics and Chemistry Laboratories began, which became very famous. Father Faustino took part in this task in the free time that his teaching and academic activities left him. His scientific vocation became clearer and clearer.

Here he lives with Fr. Clerch, who became a great naturalist. However, he taught the subjects of geography and the history of Spain at this time. Therefore, it cannot be said that he had any influence on the scientific side of Father Faustino[38].

38 Bau, Calasanz: Historia de las Escuelas Pías en Cuba, Habana 1957, pp.186-187.

His great pastoral zeal was not limited to his commitment to the educational ministry. He collaborates with Fr. Pedro Álvarez, in the activities of the church of San Antonio. There, the Congregation of Our Lady of the Pious Schools and the Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul were founded. The foundation of these associations was preceded by the Conference of the Knights under the patronage of St. Joseph of Calasanz. “The Congregation of Our Lady of the Pious Schools had its main feast on the 2nd day of Pentecost, because on this day the Holy Founder brought the original image of the Virgin Mother of our schools to Frascatti. In addition, on the fourth Sunday of each month, Holy Communion was celebrated with appropriate exercises, in which the Crown of the Twelve Stars had an important place, as well as the five “Hail Mary” of the five letters of the Most Holy Name”[39] .

39 PSV, p. 21.

These pastoral activities gave him the opportunity to remain in direct and living contact with Calasanzian spirituality, which he internalized more and more every day. Father Pedro Alvarez, who knew Father Faustino well because he had been his novice master, gives us some important insights into him in a letter he wrote to the Apostolic Commissioner in December 1858 to inform him of his arrival on the island: “Father Faustino, as lively and enthusiastic as ever, gives greetings for everyone”[40].

40 Ibid., p. 32.

But his health began to weaken:

“I have a bad liver”; “my eyesight has been bad for some time”[41]; “I am going to leave because the climate does not suit me, the day must come soon; it is not my fault, nor did I know anything about it; the superiors care more about my health than I do”[42].

41 Ep. n.5.

42 Ep. n.6.

Perhaps for this reason, on March 20, 1859, in the meeting of the Provincial Congregation of Castile, “with regard to Fathers Luciano and Faustino, who are in Havana, it was agreed that the corresponding report be requested from the Rector of that place in order to do what is necessary”[43].

43 PSV, p. 35.

The final decision is taken: Father Faustino will be sent back to Spain. In the 1847 catalogue, on the page dedicated to Faustino Míguez, the following is written: “1860. He came sick from this island”.

He returns happy because he truly believes that accepting the will of God is the most important thing and it is manifested through the ordinary circumstances of life. He is only concerned because he knows that there is still much work for his brothers to do. He also expresses a certain satisfaction, a typical trait of his youth, when he says that there is no father there who has studied the subjects he teaches.

“My departure does not cease to be a source of anxiety, because the Fathers are very overworked and not one of them has studied the subjects I teach”[44].

44 Ep. n.6.

He is travelling in the company of Father Collaso, who has asked permission to rest in Spain because he was busy building the ‘Normalistas’ pavilion. Father Faustino writes to the family to inform them of his return:

“On February 12th I left Havana for this city and arrived on the 5th of the present; I have come to restore my health, not because I am very broken, but because I have been there”[45].

45 Ep. n.7.

The letters that Father Faustino writes from Cuba give us an insight into his deepest reality, his ideals and desires. Through them, some personal traits are revealed to us; he does not repay evil with evil; he is willing to die with joy with one´s boots on; his goal is the service of God; he is hard, strict and at the same time sensitive; he shows a special affection for his heavenly mother Mary and his earthly mother; he shows great trust in his superiors.

Guanabacoa is an important place in his life. He speaks of close contact with the students in the hallways, in the classes; of free time dedicated to research; of collaboration in the church of San Antonio; of love and affection for what is Calasanzian, of immeasurable dedication. The echoes of his time on the Cuban island, passed on from parents to children, continue to this day.

It was almost three years of contact with a new country, new people, new customs, new brothers in the community, new work. Faustino becomes permeable to absorb all the good that contains so much newness. The Cuban land broadens his “horizons”; the islanders teach him the therapeutic benefits of plants; the new customs teach him the need to respect other realities; the new brothers bring him warmth and closeness, as well as a deeper knowledge of the Pious Schools, since they belong to different Spanish Piarist provinces; in the new work he lives with Calasanzian intensity and learns the importance of practice in teaching.

Without a doubt, Cuba was his “watchtower”:

“…just like the houses we have in the Antilles, which were my watchtower to discover and know what was said and much more”[46].

46 PSV, p. 59.

Cuba gave him the height he needed to see the wide horizon of the world with the gaze of God. Cuba gave him the strength to continue on the path to God. And Faustino learned that only from Him does one receive the necessary depth and perspective to view the life, the reality of every human being, in its entirety.

San Fernando: the most genuine of the Calasanzian charism

He came ashore in Spain from Cuba on March 3, 1860. He arrives full of the friendliness of the people, the education acquired by reading the facts and current affairs, the passion for man, for the child and the youth, but his health arrives somewhat weakened. And San Fernando in Madrid, a near and well-known reality, is the place chosen by the superiors for his recovery.

During this first period of his stay at the school, he lives as a temporary member. It was not until July 24, when he received his assignment to became part of the community. In 1861, he describes his situation in the community at this time very well: “for I am a guest”[47].

47 PSV, p. 206.

All the activities and work in Cuba are now far away, as are the relationships established, the first experiments with plants… The external circumstances he has to live through seem to penetrate his deepest inner reality. It is a time of loneliness, of dispossession.

This dispossession concerns something essential that is very dear to Father Faustino, who cannot define himself in any other way than as a priest and Piarist: the unrestricted exercise of his priestly ministry.

The church at San Fernando school was used for many services, as it served not only the students, but also their families and the members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows and the Congregation of Our Lady of the Pious Schools and St. Joseph of Calasanz, who had settled there.

Faustino was able to take part in the confessions and sermons without it being too much of a burden for him. First of all, he needed the concession of the Archbishopric of Toledo, on which the Vicariate of Madrid was dependent at the time, for the appropriate licenses to hear confessions and preach. They were granted in May 1860, but only temporarily.

Father Faustino did not understand this restriction, as he had enjoyed it to the full on the island of Cuba. He presented his point of view on this matter with the sincerity and rectitude that always characterized him. With youthful vigor and strong character, he defends what he considers a right of the religious.

A defense that reveals a man driven by a great apostolic and priestly zeal, but which leads him to the temporary suspension of these licenses. He accepted the final decision.

In July 1860, he joined the community of San Fernando as a full member. The superior is Father Domingo Sierra. Some of the religious with whom he lived in this community were Inocente Palacios, provincial superior, Calixto Soto, with whom he would meet again in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Escorial, Julián Alejandre, Francisco Pérez de la Concepción, Cayetano Bellón, Cipriano Tornos, and others. Father Ramón Cabeza still remains in the community as master of the novices[48].

48 Archivo Provincial. Tercera Demarcación. Madrid. Caja 13. Catálogo de fecha 1.1.61.

The most direct recipients of the pedagogical mission now entrusted to him, that of teacher of writing, were the little ones. His devotion to them allowed him to live the true Calasanzian charism, which was one of Joseph Calasanz’ great intuitions: “If the child is imbued with piety and letters from an early age, a happy course of his whole life can be foreseen”[49].

49 Constitutions of St. Joseph Calasanz, n.2.

In Cuba he was happy among the teachers, now he is also happy among the little ones. The Calasanzian spirit permeates his heart more and more.

But his time in the community of San Fernando was not without difficulties. He faced them, and he did so out of great fidelity to the voice of his conscience, “the only one that compels him to speak against his whole character”. He shows himself to be a profound connoisseur of the law of the religious, whose fulfillment he demands before the Father Jacinto Felíu, Apostolic Commissioner, in a letter to him dated January 26, 1861.

This letter is important to learn a little more about Father Faustino, because in it he recognizes the strong “character that is his own, even if it costs him his life”, and he expresses his inclination to investigate the facts in the “crucible of truth”[50].

50 Copy of the letter in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio H.D.P. Madrid. Carpeta archivo secreto.

Out of loyalty to his conscience and inspired by an authentic Calasanzian spirit, he now raised his voice before the nuncio Lorenzo Barilli, to whom he sent two memoranda in February 1861, in which he demanded the restoration of the Constitutions. In the second letter, which he wrote two days after the first, he provided further dates and reasons to clarify what he had previously said about the situation of the Pious Schools.

“Fearing to abuse your benevolent indulgence still more, I have restrained my pen in sending you the other letter of the 11th of this month, in which I set forth the premises of the circumstances which I am sure you had already guessed, and which I intend to clarify still further by your generous placet, adding some other considerations which are likely to involve you fully in the question which motivates them”[51].

51 Memorandum to Sr. Nuncio, 13 de febrero 1861. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio H.D.P. Madrid. Carpeta archivo secreto.

The man who “does not pass anything or anyone”, but who confronts to the end the reality in which he lives and always shows himself ready to contribute his small part of the truth, is already revealing himself more clearly.

In these memoirs we discover Faustino Míguez as a tireless defender of the truth, a faithful follower of his conscience and an advocate of the fulfillment of the Rules and Constitutions.

Getafe: father, teacher and professor

God asks him once again to set off. His compass shows him the direction in which he should go… Getafe! And his life is characterized by a constant “yes” to God.

He arrived on September 19, 1861, to replace Father Juan José Romero, who had been transferred to the new foundation of Úbeda[52]. A few days later, on the 29th of the same month and year, the juniorate was transferred from Getafe to Alcalá de Henares under the direction of Father Ramón Cabeza and the novitiate from San Fernando to Getafe. Once again, Father Faustino was next to the novitiate. Perhaps a gift that allowed him to always contemplate the youthful air of devotion.

52 PSV, p. 38.

Some of the religious he lived with during these years were Juan Francisco Peña, rector; Manuel Pérez de la Madre de Dios, who would become his rector in the community of Sanlúcar de Barrameda; Modesto Peña; Marcelino Ortiz; Andrés Espinosa[53].

53 Archivo Provincial. Tercera Demarcación. Caja 13. Catálogo de enero de 1862 y 1864.

The young Vicente Alonso Salgado studied theology in Getafe during these years. He came from Quiroganes in the province of Orense and stayed at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Miracles from 1856 to 1858. He was in the seminary and wore the Piarist cassock in 1861[54]. They met again in El Escorial. They became good friends.

54 DENES, vol.II, p. 46.

For Fr. Faustino, Getafe was a place of growth and maturation. It is eight years of profound Piarist service - as a professor, teacher and director of boarding schools - and spiritual intensity with a taste of donation and full trust in the God who saves him.

Here his educational mission goes beyond the purely scholastic sphere and partly penetrates the family. He was appointed director of one of the three sections into which the Getafe boarding school was divided. He certainly remembered his years as a boarder at the Sanctuary. An experience that would help him to better understand these children, with whom he had to play the role of father, mother and teacher at the same time.

In the Pious Schools, the figure of head of the boarding section was of great importance because of the responsibility involved in educating and caring for these children far from their families. They had to be people with great pedagogical skills, able to create a close and friendly environment to mitigate the absence of the family and educate the children in an authentic human and social spirit. In a circular that Fr. Ramón Valle sent to the directors of boarding sections in 1865, he urges them: “…rather, doing everything for everyone, treating them all with that affection, interest and tender care that is evident even in the midst of severe reprimands”[55].

55 PSV, p. 55.

Father Faustino knows that his time after class belongs to the boarders. They are the object of his gaze, his affection and his tenderness. He does his best to help them on their path of growth. He tries to forge with them “those sweet and strong bonds that never break”, based on sacrifice and respect[56].

56 Del Álamo, Anselmo: Habla el Padre Fundador (HPF), Madrid 1984, p. 53.

Everything in his life is for God, from a devotion to the child, “who is from God and for God, by whose power he is the son and the work of his hand and the image of his glory”[57]. The child in his life is a “place” of encounter with God, and so he tries to transform his work into prayer[58].

57 Ibid., p. 49.

58 Ep, n.153.

The academic activity that he carried out in Getafe stands out for the variety of subjects that he taught. The academic year 1861-1862 serves as an example: Exercises in Latin and Spanish analysis and translation, rudiments of the Greek language, concepts of the general and particular history of Spain, arithmetic and algebra up to and including the quadratic equations, French, Sacred History and Morals.

In the academic year 1862-63 he was also Professor of Arithmetic and Algebra; in the academic years 1866-67 and 1867-68 he taught Physics and Chemistry.

In all these subjects he always imparted an air of wisdom and depth knowledge which he had undoubtedly acquired in many hours of study. He brought to life the saying of Joseph Calasanz: “He who vows to teach, vows also to learn”. And he was never tired of learning. He continued to do so until the end of his life, when, at the age of 94, he attended conferences held by young people with pencil and paper in hand. His Master’s heart made him feel that he was always a disciple of the One True Master[59].

59 HPF, p. 86.

The depth and breadth of his knowledge was demonstrated by the fact that Father Anselmo del Álamo tells us; the philological discussion he had with the eminent professor of Latin, D. Raimundo de Miguel, who was known for his Latin grammar and dictionary.

Faustino even showed him that he had not correctly translated some expressions from St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori’s Homo Apostolicus. The professor was admired for his knowledge and through the Marquis of Morante, alumnus of the school of San Anton, he received Father Faustino’s help in compiling the Latin-Spanish etymological dictionary.

At the academic center, Father Faustino witnessed a change whose benefits did not go unnoticed. The school enjoyed economic independence from the public authorities, but not on the pedagogical level. Students had to complete their studies with examinations at the corresponding official Institute in Madrid. In educational practice, this meant that there was too much focus on the academic aspect at the expense of a comprehensive education.

In 1865, the school was recognized as an official secondary school, which gave it autonomy and independence. This recognition was due in large part to the prestige that the school enjoyed due to the presence of teachers with great pedagogical skills, including Father Faustino.

The center was affiliated with the San Isidro Institute in Madrid and its professors moved to Getafe to examine the students. Father Faustino experienced the benefits of this new establishment for the students and the better opportunities it offered for a holistic education. This was the “birth” of the staunch advocate of educational freedom.

An important event for the Pious Schools in Spain took place in 1862 during his stay in Getafe. It was the Apostolic Visitation to the Piarist Houses in Spain ordered by Pius IX.

The Cardinal of Toledo was appointed Visitator, who delegated the respective bishops of the places where the schools were established. For the school in Getafe, he appointed his secretary, D. Pablo Yurre. It was an event that Father Faustino experienced intensely, for which he was committed to the end, as he knew how to do, and which he “did not let pass” so easily” in his life.

In his early thirties, he felt compelled to contribute his own perspective clearly and “without masks”[60] to the moment the Order was experiencing. His desire for truth and his deep affection for the Pious Schools moved him to do so. He did so through the interrogation to which he was subjected by the Visitator and through the documents he freely gave him: “that, in order better to express his ideas and feelings, he presented a request addressed to the Apostolic Visitator and a copy of others he had addressed for the same purpose to the Nuncio of His Holiness in these kingdoms, which are appended to these proceedings for the appropriate effects”[61] .

60 PSV, p. 58.

61 Ibid., p. 57.

In the memorandum which he hands to the Visitator, he sets forth “in crude words and modest terms” his “humble opinion”[62]. He shows great longing to live the devotion to the Lord from the authentic spirit of Joseph Calasanz in depth and radicalism. In it, he speaks of the “sacred commitment of our ministry”. He shows himself to be a nonconformist with an “average life” and inclined towards the education of underprivileged children. He considers it necessary to strengthen the spirit with study and with spiritual exercises “to imbue the youth with sound maxims and to consolidate them more in letters”[63].

62 Ibid., p. 58.

63 Memorandum-Petition to the Visitator, on August 12, 1862, from Getafe. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio H.D.P. Caja Escolapios.

As for his spiritual journey, we have a document from this period, 1866, written by Fr. Faustino in his own handwriting, which reveals to us the spiritual depth he was already experiencing at this stage of his journey. It is the vow in favor of the souls in purgatory[64].

64 Ep, n.8.

At the age of thirty-seven, this restless young man, who helped in catechesis, proved to be tireless in his devotion, in his love for children and young people, in his search for the truth, in his fidelity to his conscience. His life is a continuous donation, and now he wants to make this donation even greater, through this promise in which he offers the good that his works can bring to those who need it. It is a gesture of complete trust in God and passion for those in need.

Where does so much vitality and dynamism come from? By making this vow, he reveals the spiritual keys which permeate his entire life: the honor and glory of God, the imitation of Christ, his heartfelt slavery to the Mother of Mercy.

In Getafe we see how he lives with depth, with intensity. At the same time, he identified more and more with his existence as a Piarist, for which he was prepared to renounce everything. in 1891, Father Faustino writes a letter to Father General in which he reveals a fact of his life which must have happened in those years and which crossed his mind as in a straight line:

“…and the fact that I have even been offered episcopal dignity and rich offices, which I have always postponed to my habit”[65].

65 López, Salvador; Faustino Míguez Sch.P. Fundador de las Religiosas Calasancias (FMS), Salamanca 1988, p. 171.

We have also heard about this subject from Father Cerdeiriña, a brother of the community in Getafe during his second stay: “When one of my confreres in habit reads this meager obituary, he will perhaps wonder from where I got the news of the offer of a miter made to the wise and virtuous Father Faustino when he was in Getafe for the first time, that is, from the year 1860 to 1868, that is, when he was not yet 40 years old … a bond of sympathy united us both… so that there will be no one in the school of Getafe who supposes that I did not know about this matter”[66].

66 Cerdeiriña, José: El Padre Faustino Míguez, Madrid 1970, p. 33.

This fact is also referred to by Fr. José Olea, a Piarist who met him in Getafe in 1899 and who, as a novice, usually went to confession with him: “Because of the reputation he had rightly acquired on this occasion, he was told around 1865 that he would be proposed for a bishopric in a terna, which he resolutely declined”[67].

67 Summarium Proc.-ord. Matriten (Summarium), p. 30.

He did not accept the offer. Surely Faustino Míguez, seduced by the God of children and youth, could find no other way to live if not from the greatest treasure he believed he possessed: his Piarist vocation. This is what happened to Joseph Calasanz in Rome when he exclaimed: “I have found in Rome the best way to serve God by helping poor children, and I will not leave it for anything in the world”[68].

68 Berro, Vicente: Annotazioni, t.I, p. 73.

He felt called in the depths of his heart to reject honor in the eyes of the world: “I want to live hidden, to die unnoticed.” These are the first steps on the inner path on which the Spirit will lead him: that of self-denial. And the earth is being prepared for him.

Celanova: its native land reveals its educational horizon to us

A new foundation was generated in response to a request from the mayor of the town on November 3, 1867: “Request and communication from the mayor of the Municipality of Celanova, requesting the creation of our school in the building that was once the Benedictine monastery. Father Francisco Pérez was commissioned to formulate the foundations”[69]. This is recorded in the minute book of the Provincial Congregation. And in the register of the provincial secretariat, it says: “On August 3, 1868, Father Faustino Míguez de la Encarnación, who came from Getafe, was given the obedience for the new school of Celanova”[70].

69 PSV, p. 47.

70 Ibid., p. 56.

Once again, we had to leave. Now to familiar territory, which we perhaps even longed for at times. To a beloved country, full of memories, lived experiences, full of affection. When he saw his homeland, many different feelings certainly came up in him.

“How many memories of my childhood, some of which I spent under these sacred vaults, are coming together upon my imagination and stirring the strongest emotions in my breast!”[71].

71 HPF, p. 48.

It was his first return after his final departure. How many places he had traveled to since then! He had experienced the quality of the traveler.

The new community settled in the monastery of San Rosendo, which is incomparable for its grandeur and beauty. It is now quite run-down and the first task is to repair it as well as possible.

The inauguration of the school took place on August 15th. The minutes of this event were written by Father Faustino, who was appointed secretary of the community. Among other things, he highlights the fact that this is the first Piarist center to be founded in the Kingdom of Galicia. The inaugural address was given by the rector, Pedro Álvarez, who replaced Father Francisco Pérez, who had resigned from his post[72].

72 PSV, pp. 61-62.

On the first of September the two primary classes began and on the fifteenth the boarding section was opened. Father Faustino’s commitment and dedication to the boarding section in Getafe motivated him to take over the management of one of the two sections of boarders again.

The inhabitants of Celanova were quick to recognize the dedication and commitment of this community and found it worthy of the name “Fathers”: “Nothing could be more natural than that here a great appreciation and inner affection arose on the part of the population for the Fathers, who on August 15th, 1968, which will always be a memorable day for this country, inaugurated a school that truly deserves them the name “Fathers”[73].

73 Ibid., p. 92.

In Celanova, Faustino Míguez shows us, without intending to, his soul as an educator. His time, his being, all his energies are at the service of education. And as a good lover of the “divine mission”, he is always there with his eyes open to “grasp and discover” everything that contributes to improving the quality of education.

The school depends on the academic level of the Institute of Orense. Father Faustino knows first-hand the benefits of the official recognition that the Getafe school has enjoyed since 1865. And his desire to achieve the same situation for the school of Celanova became even more intense after the publication of the decree of October 25, 1868 by the Provisional Government of the Glorious Revolution on the freedom of education.

The content of this decree was made explicit with the decree of January 14, 1869. Not only the provincial councils, but also the municipalities could establish all kinds of centers for free education with the power to award degrees. The opportunity is favorable to this man’s foresight and horizons. But it is not yet time…

The end-of-year exams are coming up. The school’s students achieve brilliant results. The rector of the University of Santiago, who gives the graduation speech, affirms, given the pedagogical and academic quality of the center, that “schools as prestigious as this one should live independently of all official obstacles”[74]. This is another indication of what Father Faustino, who publicly affirmed these words of the aforementioned academic person, clearly had in mind. This apparently did not please some of his confreres because it could have repercussions with the local authorities[75].

74 Del Álamo, Anselmo: Biografía del Siervo de Dios, Madrid, 1975, p. 72.

75 Ibid., p. 72.

The Rector was undoubtedly referring in his words to Father Faustino’s contribution to the school’s reputation. The inhabitants of Celanova made this clear in August 1869 when, on hearing the news of his departure, they demanded that: “that the departure of Father Míguez and Father Blanco be reversed, because the teaching in the part on which they depend has developed to produce such good results that in such a short time it has managed to draw the attention of the four provinces of Galicia to the School of San Rosendo, to the point that it is recognized as the most important institution of secondary education among all the public and private institutions that exist in this rich region”[76].

76 PSV, p. 52.

On June 23, Father Pedro Álvarez traveled to Madrid to attend the General Chapter. Father Faustino remained in charge as vice-rector. In a meeting of the community that took place a few days later, it was agreed to initiate the procedures for the official recognition of the school. He is responsible for making the necessary arrangements: “On June 28, 1869, when the community of this school met, it was unanimously decided to do everything possible to emancipate the College from the Institute of Orense and to enable it to take the examinations for the course and diploma examinations… Father Faustino Míguez de la Encarnación is in charge of taking all the necessary steps for this purpose”[77].

77 Ibid., p. 51.

On July 29, the official decree was received. Father Faustino’s long-awaited educational dream had already become a reality. We believe that during the celebration of this important event for the school that Father Faustino had so much desired, a beautiful “pedagogical discourse” came from his hands.

The “homeland”, the land where we were born, is always the favorite place to express our deepest convictions and aspirations because of the warmth, welcome and affection that reigns there. Home is where the best of what we have inside us comes out effortlessly.

In his homeland, Father Faustino reveals to us his ideal of education. In addition to “home”, he sings a beautiful song for the child,

“He represents the human race that is reborn, the homeland that sustains itself and the flower of humanity that renews itself…

it is the whole human race, it is the whole humanity, it is the whole human being who is entitled to the care of all authorities and to the work and benefit of all powers…”.

and on education:

“It is the noblest, greatest and most sublime work in the world, because it embraces the whole man… It is the divine work… It is the continuing creation, it is the supreme mission of the Pious School; a mission of the greatest interest and of decisive importance for the dignity and happiness of the individual and the family, as well as of the society as a whole”.

In addition to “home”, he defines education in simple words, but full of content, as:

…”bringing out from within”, “awakening dormant faculties”, “giving life, movement and action to a still imperfect existence”.

In addition to “home”, he is deeply attracted to the child, who is at the center of his educational work. These words can only come from a heart in which children have priority:

“Neither the gold of Ophir… nor the silks of China… nor the splendid furs of Siberia… and the beauties of all the arts have for the Pious School the attraction of childhood, whose excellent heart and exalted mind and beautiful features enchant it”[78].

78 HPF, pp. 48-55.

Faustino Míguez is a born pedagogue. Like Joseph Calasanz, children have stolen his heart and he is convinced that the best way to renew society and bring happiness to people is through education. The words of one of his students are revealing: “In addition to the lessons he spent with us, he gave us snacks and, also cheerful and joyful, shared our breaks in the courtyard… As a teacher, he was incomparable. He knew how to adapt to our abilities and made the lessons so entertaining that no time was wasted. We loved Father Míguez’s subjects and took them on board with great ease”[79].

79 PSV, p. 515.

An educator by vocation with a great love for the child, the young person, the whole person. A love that becomes service and dedication in his educational and priestly ministry.

Here in Celanova, his work as a priest is very intense, as the monastery church is a parish. He devoted part of his time to the confessional, from where he contributed to the health of the spirit and lovingly received those who turned to him for forgiveness and guidance. On January 25, 1869, permission was signed in the Provincial Congregation of Castile for Father Faustino to hear confessions and absolve reserved sins throughout the Piarist Province.

He preached several sermons in his homeland: on the Descent from the Cross during Holy Week, on Desagravios (Atonements) on June 13th, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and on Our Lady of the Incarnation, which he preached on August 8th in the hermitage of the same name on the outskirts of Celanova.

In the sermon on the Descent from the Cross, he expresses his love for the crucified Christ, one of the characteristics of his Piarist spirituality. In it, he defines the cross as “the treasure of the mortal” and presents the crucified Christ as “the trophy of love that God testifies to man”[80].

80 HPF, p. 62.

One event that Fr. Faustino experienced in 1869 was the celebration of the Provincial and Vicariate Chapters. The Constitutions mention the local chapter as the previous step. Faustino would demand its fulfillment again, in fidelity to the cry of his conscience that led him to oppose anything that would constitute a violation of the law. He will defend himself and demand that action be taken in accordance with the law, which is designed for such cases. In this case, he has the support of Father Ramón Cabeza, who is assigned to the community of Alcalá de Henares. He writes to the President of the Vicariate Chapter and supports Fr. Faustino’s position.

About a year has passed since his arrival in Celanova. It was a time of intense activity, commitment and dedication without measure. When the course was finished, Faustino received a new transfer. He had to go to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the province of Cádiz, although the provincial congregation had proposed him for the post of rector of the house in July 1869.

When the inhabitants of Celanova learned of the departure of Fathers Faustino and Blanco, they sent a letter to the Provincial asking him to revoke their departure. Fifty-seven gentlemen signed the document on their own behalf and as an expression of the wishes of the population, asking that “he order that the said Fathers Míguez and Blanco… continue to occupy the positions in this School that were given them from the beginning and in which they have proven themselves worthy of the esteem, respect and affection of all those interested in the prosperity of this new-born and already remarkable educational institution”[81].

81 PSV, p. 52.

But there is no turning back. His commitment is now needed elsewhere, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a foundation that is just taking its first steps. Faustino has not said a word against this decision. He did not ask himself “why”. He left it up to God. He is guided by nothing other than His Will[82] and from his part, “always shows his will ready and obedient in good times and bad”[83]. He experiences the peace that the Lord gives to those who serve him[84] and live in accordance with his will[85].

82 Ep. n.760.

83 Ep. N.728.

84 HPF, p. 158.

85 Ep. n.495.

Sanlúcar de Barrameda: “consecrated to teaching”

Father Faustino arrived in this beautiful Andalusian town at the mouth of the Guadalquivir on September 9, 1869. The journey was long, from north to south, but it was not difficult because his heart was full of the vitality that God gives to those who want above all to live according to his will.

Francisco Rubio y Contreras, Archpriest of Sanlúcar, whom we will talk about later because of his relationship with the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess, worked to found the School of the Piarist Fathers[86]. It was built as a result of the will of Mr. Francisco Jiménez de Paula, a citizen of Sanlúcar, who had bequeathed the creation of a center for the education of the youth of Sanlúcar[87]. The inauguration of the new school, which was housed in San Francisco convent, took place a year before the arrival of Father Faustino, on September 13, 1868. But political events, the Glorious Revolution, delayed the start of classes and the year passed with preparations, adjustments and formalities.

86 Vilá Palá: Claudio: o.c., p. 152. Barbadillo, Pedro: Historia de la ciudad de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, reproducción facsímil completa de la primera edición de 1942, n.1160, p. 652.

87 Del Álamo, Anselmo: Biografía del Siervo de Dios, Madrid 1975, p. 80.

As soon as the preparations were completed, the school opened in September 1869. Father Faustino was entrusted with teaching physics and chemistry, natural history and physiology and hygiene. These were undoubtedly his favorite subjects, although he always accepted the ones that were suggested to him.

The report from 1870 presents him to us on the only path he learned to follow, that of donation, commitment to the end, responsibility in the task entrusted to him, faithfulness to God: “He does physics and chemistry and refresher lessons for the first class. His fulfillment of the tasks is very good, his fulfillment of religious observance very good”. The report of 1871 provides us with some interesting and important data: “He teaches physics and chemistry and the 1st section of refresher lessons for the first class. He is Director (of the boarders) and procurator. His literary and religious conduct is good”[88].

88 PSV, p. 65.

For the third time, he was put in charge of a section of boarders. In Getafe and Celanova, his dedication was evident. He loves the children and knows how to be for them what Calasanz demanded of the Piarist: “a skillful guide… a true friend… a father… whose mind only flows, whose heart lives exclusively in his son, of his son and for his son, and is unceasingly committed”[89].

89 Caballero, Valentín: Aportaciones pedagógicas, Madrid 1950, p. 117.

In August 1872, Father Manuel Pérez was appointed rector of the community. This coincidence would prove to be positive for Father Faustino in the future. It will be him who, being General Vicar in 1885, had to be asked for permission to proceed with the foundation of the Association. He knew him well and not only put no obstacles in his way, but made his path easier.

He also lived with Father Manuel Raboso, who was one of the three religious who had decided in principle to go with Father Ramón Cabeza to the foundation of Buenos Aires, which was being prepared at the time. In the end, he gave up and stayed in the Province of Castile[90].

90 Vilá Palá, Claudio: o.c., pp. 378 y 389.

Father Faustino dedicated himself with joy to education, teaching and doing everything that this ministry entailed. He feels deeply as a Piarist and defines himself as such:

“As a Piarist, I am of the people and for the people, I am consecrated to teaching and must enliven it with the practice”[91].

91 Míguez, Faustino: Análisis de las aguas públicas de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Sevilla 1872, pp. 91-92.

Here, in this environment of white houses and open doors, Father Faustino opens the doors of his being and allows us to get to know him a little better, from the inside. He is the man who knows that his life does not belong to him; he is “of the people and for the people”, of the simple and for the simple, of the little ones and for the little ones, of God’s favorites. He is the man who is committed to the “worthy” service of education out of a dedication that is confirmed by the fourth vow of teaching. He is the man who is committed to experimental and practical teaching in the service of education.

Through these simple but profound traits, we see how Fr. Faustino lives here and there, before, now and after. His Piarist life is characterized by them. Father José Olea Montes confirms this: “He always fulfilled with all perfection the fourth vow of our Order, which, as we know, is subordinate to the vow of obedience, and the Servant of God understood it in such a way that he automatically suspended or abandoned any other occupation he had the moment obedience called him to teaching”[92].

92 PSV, p. 121.

In Sanlúcar de Barrameda he clearly showed his preference for study. He devoted many hours to it, especially at dawn. In this regard, Father Faustino remarked on one occasion with singular grace to Father Pedro Diaz, his brother in the community, who had diametrically opposed habits regarding study hours: “You and I could agree on the post of janitor. You take the watch in the early hours of the night, and I will carry on until everyone gets up”[93].

93 Cerdeiriña, José: El Padre Faustino Míguez, Madrid 1970, p. 52; Summarium, p. 54.

He had already shown us the horizon of this inclination as a young man in the school of San Fernando: to study in order to teach, in order to pass on what he had learned”[94]. And he teaches in order to educate, in order to point his students to the truth of God and the truth of human science. He knows that he is “a co-worker with the truth”. He lived the study, formation and preparation of teaching as traits inherent to his being as Piarist, and a requirement of the vow of teaching he had taken.

94 Ep. n.2.

His desire for knowledge and study was fulfilled with the service entrusted to him as a librarian. Father Anselmo del Álamo, a Piarist, tells us that he spent a lot of time studying and reading books in the library: “He had his room in the same room or place that served as a library. There he spent hours and hours in the diligent study of his favorite subjects and in the reading and meditation of many others, which were to constitute his intellectual baggage and the inner formation of a solid and very complete person in the various branches of human knowledge”[95].

95 Del Álamo, Anselmo: Biografía del Siervo de Dios, Madrid 1975, p. 86.

He is self-taught. And as such, he acquires a knowledge that is not purely memoristic, but has a clear practical and experimental orientation. His teaching is also like this, which he “enlivens with the practice”[96].

96 Míguez, Faustino, o.c., p. 92.

The people of Sanlúcar recognize through Dr. Pizarro that this is one of the characteristics of the teaching that the Piarist Fathers give to their students. He considers them “useful friends of youth” and emphasizes that “the fulfillment of their religious duties does not prevent them from devoting themselves with lively faith and commendable tenacity to the skillful introduction of their pupils to the mysteries of science; and by divining the needs of their intelligence and their hearts, helps them to attain the highest degree of knowledge with a method as clear as simple”[97].

97 Ibid., p. 1.

In Father Faustino’s classes, everything was subjected to an experiment to test the properties of plants, water and minerals. “And not only did the teacher carry out the experiments, he also had the students do them themselves”[98].

98 PSV, p. 65.

He gained a reputation as a wise man, that spread among the residents of Sanlúcar and reached the ears of the town council. The council asked him to analyze the water from the town’s springs. Father Faustino agreed. He devoted seven months to this undertaking, for which he was forced to give up other services that were required of him. He tells us what motivates him to undertake this arduous and difficult work: the “glory of God” and “the desire to be useful to people”. The result achieved earns him the admiration and recognition of the medical class of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. He receives them with great simplicity and normality.

The presence of this community in the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda also came to an end. A political event that took place on February 11, 1873, the proclamation of the First Republic after the abdication of Amadeo de Saboya, changed its course.

The cities and provinces, following the federalism of Pi y Margall, declared themselves autonomous and cantonalism began to develop. In Cádiz, the city council became the government. And in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a revolutionary junta was formed, which appeared at the school on June 30th and took the religious prisoners to the Town Hall. There they were, “…without having had food all day, and grave and gross accusations were made against them… The virtue of those Fathers did not cease to impose itself on those who, in those circumstances, were their judges. An attempt was made during the day to pass a judgment on them by no means favorable, some proposing to shoot them… The neighbors with good judgment, common sense and religious feelings were intimidated without daring to defend them, only one had enough courage to… to fight to free them from the fury of their enemies. This was Mr Rafael Ortega… He managed to get the Fathers out of the Town Hall and bring them to his house”[99].

99 Ibid., p. 80.

They remained in his house while he made the necessary preparations for their departure from the city. He succeeded in getting them to embark for Seville. They left the city at four in the morning, as the secretary of the school, Father Miguel Escolano, reports: “We were there all day and all night, until four in the morning of the next day, when, without having everything and without permission to return to the school or even to get the breviary, we walked along the road to the beach, where we embarked in a small felucca and left for Seville”[100].

100 PSV, p. 81.

Through these events, Father Faustino experienced martyrdom at close quarters. He was not afraid of it. He was ready to lay down his life for love[101]. But “God did not destine his servant to receive the crown of martyrdom, he wanted him for another, greater work with greater results”[102]. He was granted to give his life day after day and from now on in a place still unknown to him, but this did not worry him, for “God is everywhere”[103].

101 Ep. n.452.

102 HPF, p. 98.

103 Ep. N.235.

El Escorial: yearning for perfection

From Seville to Madrid, probably to the college of San Fernando, to await the new destination, the new task. Obedience arrived on September 23, 1873. He must go to the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

A year earlier, in October 1872, Queen Maria Victoria, consort of Amadeo of Savoy, gave the Monastery of El Escorial with its school, church and library to the use and administration of the Piarist Fathers, at the request of Minister Ruiz Zorrilla, first cousin of Father Juan Manuel Zorrilla.

The Government commits itself to the sustenance and needs of the religious and allows the establishment of the novitiate in the Monastery. It also takes charge of the repairs, the teachers’ salaries and the maintenance of the children free of charge.

The Piarists commit themselves to teach the subjects of Primary and Secondary Education, opening two free classes for the children of the town.

The community settled there in January 1873. The official inauguration took place on the 19th of the same month. Father Julián Viñas, who was the Provincial Superior of Castile, was appointed rector. The novitiate and juniorate of the Province were transferred there.

Fr. Faustino was assigned the classes of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The religious are insufficient to attend to all the work that there is in the incipient work. This is how the Vicar General puts it: “the house of El Escorial needs double or even triple the number of people it has today, and we cannot increase it for many years. Intelligent people are needed there who possess at least some languages, to place them in its famous libraries”[104].

104 PSV, p. 71.

In the foundational bases it was stipulated that the conservation and custody of the Library would be the responsibility and care of the community, which would have it open to the public every day. In the list of teachers of the Colegio de Escuelas Pías de S. Lorenzo, in the Provincial Archives, it appears: “P. Faustino Míguez: Physics, with French, with the position of librarian”[105].

105 Ibid., p. 71.

Faustino met some of the requirements that the Vicar pointed out for the personnel needed at El Escorial: broad knowledge, knowledge of some languages - at least Latin, Greek, French, later he would also demonstrate knowledge of English -, love for science…

On May 15, 1874 he was appointed librarian. Father Vicente Alonso Salgado was also appointed to this same position. After living again with Fr. Faustino and knowing his dedication and devotion to any task entrusted to him, he said of him that he was “an anvil in his work”. In 1894 he was appointed Bishop of Astorga and later of the diocese of Murcia-Cartagena. They always maintained a good and cordial relationship. While he remained in the diocese of Murcia, he sent young women who wanted to become religious to the Institute of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess.

El Escorial is, in the life of Father Faustino, the place where his desires for perfection and radicalism are clearly manifested. On February 22, 1874, he wrote a letter to Father General in the following terms:

“Having learned with great pleasure from some letter that our primitive Rule is being observed in the Republic of Argentina, I cannot but beg you to deign to tell me if this reform is true and, if so, to give me license, orders and blessing to join the nascent Province of Argentina”[106].

106 Ibid., pp. 78-79.

He expressed his desire, but he knew that the decision was up to the Superiors. For the time being, he did not receive an answer or permission. He continued to devote himself to his educational work, dedicating time to study and research, activities now favored by his job as a librarian.

It is striking that the date of this writing is one day later than the date of the document which provisionally confirms the continuity of the Piarists in the Escorial, which had been requested when the 1st Republic was established[107]. Perhaps he did not agree, because of the conditions that had been stipulated in the foundation?

107 Ibid., p. 74.

In fact, the permanence in El Escorial was short. The 1st Republic soon fell and in December 1874, Alfonso XII was enthroned. In April 1875, the King informed the Piarists that he had a different destiny for El Escorial. A few days later, the Governorship informed them that His Majesty was disassociating himself from any commitment, and in due time he notified them.

In the month of July of 1875, after having celebrated the Local Chapter during the month of June, the Provincial Congregation determines the withdrawal of the community from the Monastery. This decision was sanctioned by the decree of August 5th. The argumentation used in this document is that the permanence of the religious depended on a contract with the government of the time; when this changed, the commitment ceased “ipso facto”.

Faced with these facts, Fr. Faustino would confirm the imperative need to defend the economic and pedagogical independence of the centers. This was something for which he had fought so hard.

Thus ended the stay of the Piarists in El Escorial. Also that of Father Faustino, who directed his steps towards Monforte de Lemos, where he was appointed rector of the Community.

In the last months of his stay in the Monastery, Fr. Eugenio Caldeiro was appointed Rector of the Community, who came to have a great appreciation for Fr. Faustino because his science and piety. He served as Provincial Superior from 1878 to 1887. It was he who authorized him to carry forward the foundation of the Calasanzian Institute of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess.

Monforte de Lemos: Defender of the right to education

Father Faustino returned to Galician soil in the summer of 1875 and took up his post as rector on August 26, 1875.

His longing to be transferred to the nascent Piarist Province of Argentina, which he had not forgotten, did not prevent him from devoting himself fully to the mission he now had. As always, he is committed to everything that is good for children and young people. As a man of faith, he understands that Monforte is the “Argentine Republic” that the Lord offers him through the superiors. And he, who deeply desires to let God guide his life, receives it generously with the desire to continue living the spirit of Joseph Calasanz here.

The school opened its doors for the first time in 1874, when a contract was signed between the Piarists and the Town council. The Piarists undertook to teach the Primary and secondary education in the school in the form permitted by law and to provide it with the necessary staff. The Town council was obliged to pay the school the sum of twenty-four thousand “reales” in cash[108].

108 PSV, p. 89.

In his role as rector, he soon encountered his first difficulties. The school year began, but Father Faustino realized that the Town council had not paid any of the agreed amount the previous year and that the community was forced to go into debt, borrowing money from private individuals in order to survive.

Faced with this, Father Faustino began to act as he usually did. He stood up for justice and fought before the authorities for the restoration of the center’s rights. He also understood that if the Piarists were forced to leave the city, it would be left without the offer of an integral education of Piety and Letters.

He sent an official letter to the mayor reminding him of the commitment he had made with the school. He notes that the city council is not only not adhering to the agreements made, but also wants to change them and reduce the amount set the previous year. He contacts Father Provincial and they decide to continue to demand that the agreements be fulfilled.

He receives another rejection from the local authorities. With the support of his superiors, Faustino is prepared to take an unpopular decision, but one that he believes is necessary to continue providing education for the population: closing the school. If necessary, he will explain to the population that it is impossible to keep the school open because the agreements made by the Municipality are not being honored.

But after further negotiations with the town council, the provincial congregation “refrained from the idea of abandoning the Monforte school in the meeting of August 28, on the assumption that the town council and the city would remit the advance that the individuals had made to the school for its establishment due to the arrears that the Town council owed it, and since it guaranteed the fulfillment of the founding contract”[109].

109 Ibid., p. 102.

Faustino had ensured the continued existence of the Piarist Fathers in Monforte. It was a fight in defense of the “people” to guarantee them better educational opportunities. It was undoubtedly a battle that he waged in the knowledge that he was “consecrated to the teaching of the people”.

He shared his service as rector and his pedagogical work with his botanical hobbies, which are expressed here above all in the cultivation of his vegetable garden, where he grew some medicinal plants. This focus is probably motivated by the fact that, in addition to teaching mathematics, physics and French, he is also a professor of agriculture.

Another of his duties as rector of the school was to preside over the Vera Cruz Confraternity, which was re-established in 1864 in the church of the current Piarist School. The relics of the Lignum Crucis were venerated there[110].

110 Ibid., p. 93.

In April 1874, when the Piarists arrived in Monforte, the presidency of the confraternity was entrusted to Father Rector, “trusting in his virtue and zeal, which will contribute to the increase and splendor of the confraternity”.

Father Faustino signed the minutes as president from April 1876 to May 1879, determined with great zeal to give life to this association and to prevent its activity from being reduced to the annual meeting to celebrate its main day. There are two significant traces of his time in this confraternity: he was involved in amending its statutes and requested an increase in indulgences. His contact with it enabled him to delve even deeper into the spirituality of the cross.

At this time, a sign of his love for what is Calasanzian is his request to Father General to issue him a “relic of our Holy Father for public veneration”[111]. He encouraged anything that would help the community to keep alive and kindle the Calasanzian spirit that was so deeply rooted in him. Father Juan Mármol, rector of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, defined him in 1925 “as a son of St. Joseph Calasanz, a true and loving son, who faithfully copied all his father’s virtues”.

111 Ibid., p. 106.

He also promoted the annual and solemn celebration of the novenas to St. Joseph of Calasanz and to Our Lady of the Pious Schools, which were carried out with great fervor and with the participation of the students, their families and those close to the community.

September 1878 is an important date in the life of Father Faustino. His term as rector was coming to an end. The Provincial Congregation had to make a new appointment.

He again expressed his wish, this time with the request not to renew his appointment as rector. The General Vicar finally gave him permission to go to Buenos Aires. It was September 7, 1878[112].

112 Minutes Book of the Provincial Congregation 1816-1918. Libro 1. Folio 135. Archivo Tercera Demarcación.

But God’s plans and his plans still did not coincide. These days the Provincial Chapter is celebrated. Father Eugenio Caldeiro, with whom, as we have already indicated, he had a good relationship, was elected Superior.

We do not know what happened, but we know the result. Father Faustino seems to have finally given up his desire to go to sea and accepted to remain as rector in Monforte. Once again, he had to learn that his life did not belong to him, that no one had the rights over him, that God had, and that the greatest joy was to place himself in God’s hands[113]. Once again God had triumphed in the life of this man who walked in docility and openness! “This prompt obedience to the voice of God shows that you have a flexible and docile heart”[114].

113 Ep. n.135.

114 Ep. n.139.

He remained in Monforte until the following year, when he was transferred to Sanlúcar de Barrameda after resigning as rector.

Sanlúcar de Barrameda: a broad apostolic horizon

He set off south again. In October 1879, Father Faustino arrived in this land that was full of memories for him… the night, the river, the little boat! It is the land that welcomed him like a son, which he left with the reputation of a wise man and a saint and which will now, on his second stay, reveal him as a profoundly apostolic man. It is a land that loves Father Faustino. It is a land that he loves. And in this land, he has given God the best of himself.

When Father Faustino arrived, the rector of the community was Father Ángel Miguel Escolano, with whom he had worked during his first stay. His successor at the head of the house was Father José del Pozo, who resigned due to illness. Father Alejandro Corrales was then appointed vice-rector and later, in 1885, rector. Other members of the community were Father José Merry, Juan Antonio Herrero, Modesto García, Crisóstomo Hontiveros and Pedro Díaz, who supported Father Faustino greatly during the difficult years[115].

115 PSV, pp. 97-99.

His day was like that of any other Piarist, between prayer, lessons, the library, for which he was again responsible, close contact with the students and priestly service in the confessional. At school, he is in charge of physics, French, physiology and biology.

He knows that there are many urgent pedagogical and pastoral needs in the school that he has to take care of. But he has had the opportunity to see that there are also those outside the walls that surround him. Like Calasanz long ago in Rome, in close contact with the “people”, he realizes that education is not accessible to all. It is the right of all, but in Sanlúcar de Barrameda it is only enjoyed by some, especially the boys, but not so much the girls! Father Faustino has a benevolent eye for the girls.

For this reason, when he finishes his work at the school, he visits “a school of friends” that a lady, a friend of one of his spiritual daughters, had in her house. He encourages her and helps her to teach the girls. For his part, he is ready to offer them his support. At this moment, Father Faustino believes that this should be his contribution to alleviating this need. The spirit will lead him down other paths that he does not yet suspect at this time.

Little by little, he will discover that he is called to be the Samaritan who welcomes the needy and gives him his time, but also takes him home and gives him the best he has, his life. As he has always been a man open to God’s action, he will know how to discover the call he receives from the educational reality that surrounds him: to be the founder of a new Congregation for the Church, dedicated to the education and integral promotion of women. Chapter IV is dedicated to this theme.

Not all of his Brothers in the community understand Father Faustino’s visits and his collaboration in the “school of friends”. This is understandable, because it implies an attentive relationship with a work initiated and directed by a woman, and frequent departures from the school. But it is the spirit that moves him and pushes him to give an answer, and for this reason he finds no obstacles to stop him.

On the other hand, he is also committed to caring for the sick. It was here, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, that he began to develop some medical preparations. His fame spread throughout the city. Patients achieved good results with the treatment he recommended, which was always based on medicinal plants.

But at the same time, the situation became more complicated because the doctors now feared that he was competing with them, and the criticism and pressure from those who had praised him just a few years earlier, in 1872, for his work on the analysis of water from springs, began!… “Criticism and opposition, which he knew how to overcome with great composure and strength”[116]. These complaints reached such an extent that the rector, Alejandro Corrales, under pressure from the medical class, forbade Father Faustino from treating patients.

116 Decree of Heroic Virtues (DVH).

It should be noted, however, that during the visit that Father Manuel Pérez made to the community in March 1885 as a delegate of the General Vicar, Father Juan Martra, nothing was raised against these activities of Father Faustino. We can even confirm with Father Anselmo del Álamo that “on that occasion, Father Faustino asked for the verbal permission he speaks of in his letters to Father General Ricci, to dispose, in favor of the institution of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess, of the alms that the sick gave him for the medicines he invented”[117]. The response she received was affirmative. It is also significant that in December 1887 he was nominated for the post of rector of the school on the first ballot with eight out of nine votes[118].

117 Del Álamo, Anselmo: Biografía del Siervo de Dios, Madrid 1975, p. 132.

118 PSV, p. 169.

In reality, contact with the Association and, above all, his therapeutic activity was the reason for Father Faustino’s transfer to Getafe in 1888. “The doctors of this city began a campaign against him, fearing that their income would decrease, and complained to Father Rector about the activities of the Servant of God. The doctors’ protests were joined by some religious from the Sanlúcar community, who advised that it would be wise to transfer him”[119], reports Father Olea Montes.

119 Summarium, p. 39.

It is this moment when it needs the support of the Founder the most, the work he is beginning! Three years ago, the Lord entrusted him with a simple new mission, and now that he is dedicated to it, he asks him to continue being “the man ready to be send”. There was no trace of defense on his part in the face of the doctors’ criticism and not a single reason against the decision of the superiors.

These events were salvation history for him, because he knew how to read them from God’s perspective. He did not surrender to the facts, but to what God was asking of him, even if it was difficult for him to understand. “In all these moments he showed himself with great firmness and serenity of spirit, making it clear that his faith in the Providence was far above human circumstances”[120].

120 Ibid., p. 10.

His clear and sure option for what God was asking of him through the mediations at that moment, the stripping away of his close presence for the work being done, makes Father Faustino a witness that God, his will, his love, comes first; it is the value par excellence of his life; it makes him a witness of love for God alone, without attachment to anything, not even to the work to which the Lord has called him! It is the test of obedience that brings suffering, but which he accepts as the fruit of his spiritual maturity.

GETAFE: PRIESTLY MINISTRY

Father Faustino spent almost half of his life in Getafe. He arrived in this city for the second time on September 30, 1888. He would spend the remaining 37 years of his life here.

In some of the letters he wrote to Mother Angeles, he let us know that he did not like the climate in Getafe and was plagued by illness. But once again he shows himself to be a man willing to accept the will of God manifested through his superiors, even at the cost of his own life:

“The doctor saw me from the beginning and at the first opportunity he told me: ‘Once again go to Sanlúcar. I will give you a certificate that you need it, or I will go to your superior in person if you want. Neither the one nor the other, thank you. I did not ask to leave and I will not ask to return, even if I knew I was going to die today. This has always been my system and I will not change it at the end of my life. I have to die; here or elsewhere, it does not matter… I am ready to go to Beijing if I am asked to do so”[121].

121 Ep. n.76.

His main concern, as always, is teaching; he teaches physics, chemistry, geometry and geography. We find proof of his pedagogical work here in Getafe in the testimony of one of his students: “We all wished that Father Míguez would be with us during the breaks in the first courses, because he made sure that we had a good time. He was very simple, very human and a very committed teacher. In the upper classes, he gave us wonderful lessons with great clarity and pedagogy. He worked a lot with the most backward students and never failed to give us, in any class, a moral or religious lesson, something that would be useful for our education. During my studies I had the opportunity to associate with many professors of philosophy and letters, but I can only tell you that Father Míguez was a true pedagogue, a wise and exceptional man by virtue, whom others would call a saint”[122].

122 PVP, P. 511.

His love and dedication to the children is still perfect and selfless. He was still willing to do anything for them. This attitude is confirmed by the gesture he communicates to Mother Angeles after an outbreak of smallpox:

“We had to send all the schoolchildren home because there has been an outbreak of smallpox here. I had two of them in my room to act as assistants and doctors in everything and for everything”[123].

123 Ep. n.185.

The students and novices admired his simple manner; they were impressed by his kind and loving looks: “It was the happiest time of my life as a student. Father Faustino had a habit of crossing his hands and taking turns crossing them when he walked across the courtyard during our breaks. He was very affable and affectionate. He was a real father to each of us and I felt a real affection for him like a son. He treated each of us in a fair and just way. He was also a true companion to us. We had great respect for him and at the same time an irresistible attraction”[124].

124 PSV, pp. 198-199.

Father Aurelio Isla, who was an aspirant in 1913, remembers his kind gesture when he crossed the courtyard of the Piarist school to visit the sisters who had settled in Getafe since 1906: “We often saw him passing by our side in the school park, on his way to the Shepherdess´ school to work in the laboratory, and every time he passed by the young theologians, he greeted us by gently lifting his biretta, with which he was always covered, smiling with simple kindness”[125].

125 Ibid., p. 512.

in 1889 he traveled to Irache and held a conference in San Pedro de Cardeña for the professors and young religious who were beginning the physics course. In it, he gave “a brief overview of natural philosophy or physics” and attempted to “show its origin and progress up to our day”[126].

126 HPF, p. 152.

Also, shortly after his stay in Getafe, he held some retreats for the community together with the rector. Father Faustino led the morning meditations and the rector had the afternoon talks. This is a sign of the prestige he had acquired as a man of God and a man of science.

We know from his testimony that in the first four years after his arrival in Getafe he did not devote himself to researching the properties of plants or caring for the sick. This was almost certainly due to the situation created by the doctors in Sanlúcar, which was partly the reason for his departure. He did this later, as he himself says, urged on by the pleas of the people who knew him and by the reverberations of his earlier successes.

From his new assignment, he took care of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess, which joyfully took its first steps. He did this through numerous letters he wrote and several trips he made to the Andalusian city. In 1889, he took part in the profession of the first novices of the Association, in 1890 he presided over the girls’ exams, and later he traveled there several more times.

Mr Juan Soto Naval, who was an altar boy at the school and helped Father Faustino when he went there, has left us the testimony of those he took to Chipiona, a town in Cadiz, where the nuns were present in 1894. He remembers his great human disposition and his ability to listen: “As he was of an advanced age, I considered myself his servant. I handed him his hat and helped him put on his coat. Then, leaning on my shoulder and his cane, we went into the sacristy and I helped him put on his vestments. If he had to go to someone’s house, he would send for me and I would accompany him. In the meantime, he took an interest in my things, in my studies and even asked me questions about the subjects I was studying, and if I did not know the answers, he explained them to me. His simplicity, good manners and gentleness did not go unnoticed by me”[127].

127 Summarium Patroni responsioni additum, p. 10.

He never abandoned the work of formation of the religious, which he had already begun in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in the early days of the Association. He continued it at all times and at all levels. The following text is an eloquent example of this: “It was the summer of 1921; in our school in Getafe… the mathematics teachers of our schools met to explain some points of higher algebra in an extension course… When they met on the first day, our admiration knew no bounds: He was sitting on his bench with his pencil and his notebook… And when they had finished, they said to him: Father, why are you doing this? It is very hard in your years. He replied, It is also required by some teacher training programs and I want to learn it myself to teach it to my sisters”[128].

128 Funeral Oration. P. Juan Mármol. PSV, p. 504.

The years pass and the time comes for Fr. Faustino to retire as a teacher. But he knows that retirement is not possible in other areas of his mission, because man suffers from the burden of moral pain and needs listening and reconciliation. He devotes himself intensively to his priestly work, which he values so highly because it has an influence on the whole of human life:

“The priest’s influence covers immense proportions. He has it in the domestic sphere; he exercises it, without realizing it, on the spirit of the poor, whom he strengthens; on that of the orphans, whom he comforts; on that of the needy, whose tears he wipes away; but the most wonderful part of his work is in relation to individuality. As soon as a living being opens his eyes to the light of time, he already belongs to it; it sanctifies the beginning of his existence, tends to sanctify him for the whole period of his life, and gathers his last breath of his eternal wandering”[129].

129 HPF, pp. 22-24.

It was also here in Getafe where he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. He was unable to celebrate this event because he was ill. This is recorded in a letter which, on the other hand, speaks to us of the responsibility that this ministry entails for him:

“How quickly the satisfactions of life are diluted. Or rather, how uncertain are the ones we promise ourselves. That’s why I did not want to celebrate my golden priestly anniversary two years ago; fifty-two years of daily celebrations and so bad! What a responsibility I have! God have mercy on me! That frightens me. For just one Mass, celebrated by a priest who died on the same day, Blessed Avila said that he had to give much account to God. What will become of me after so many Masses?”[130].

130 Ep. n.390.

His fame was great as a leader and spiritual director. He spent many hours in the confessional[131]. From there, in imitation of his divine Master, he contributed to the health of the spirit by restoring peace to those who came to him in repentance. He was a true Samaritan of people’s moral pain. Father Olea Montes testifies that he harmonized the functions of spiritual director, doctor and father: “He was an excellent doctor who healed the wounds of the spiritually sick by pouring on them the oil and wine of God’s love like the Samaritan of the Gospel. He was a father to whom his children were not ashamed to reveal the hidden recesses of the heart, and to whom the faithful went in their hours of spiritual bitterness in search of consolation and the appropriate remedy”[132].

131 Summarium, p. 86.

132 Olea Montes, José: “Vida del venerado Padre Faustino Míguez, Sch.P.”, Salamanca 1954, pp. 33-34.

In this city, so close to Madrid, Father Faustino experienced moments of joy but also of sorrow during his second stay. Getafe was the scene of the greatest joys in his life. In this land, the heart of Spain, consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he experienced the great consolations of God. He had the joy of experiencing the papal approval of the Institute, the final approval of the Constitutions, the departure of the Sisters to Chile and Argentina…

But at the same time, it is a stage that is not free of crosses; for the distance from which he must live the relationship with the religious; for his separation from the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess on two different occasions; for the fierce criticism and persecutions to which he is subjected for his attention to the sick; for the use of the income of the medicines for the schools of the sisters… He remains silent, obeys and accepts it. He suffers all this, undoubtedly, for the work that is beginning to grow. On their journey, Getafe also means experiencing the joy of silence.

Father Faustino lived in an atmosphere of warm and fraternal community relationships, from which he probably recovered the most in times of trial. For this reason, he expressed his wish to die in the school “if God grants me the grace to receive all the sacraments among my brothers”[133]. In 1921, the community celebrated his 90th birthday as Calasanz founder and even dedicated some poems to him. The chronicle of the house reads: “Day 25th. Mass sung in honor of the Annunciation… Fr. Faustino’s entry into the age of our Holy Father is also celebrated. There was a Te Deum for Father Faustino. After Mass, the whole community went to congratulate the venerable old man for his virtue and his gray hair. Father Pedro Diaz read a tender and beautiful poem”[134].

133 PSV, p. 125.

134 Summarium, p. 251.

It was many years that he lived in Getafe, in this last stage, but he made good use of them to mature in holiness. At the age of 94, he was already a ripe fruit for the harvest.

On March 8, 1925, the Lord called him to enjoy his love forever. His life ended surrounded by his Sisters who visited him every day. Mother Dolores Carrillo tells us: “I had the good fortune to be at the door of the infirmary when they realized that Father had died. Because he had told us exactly that we should go to see him at two of clock in the afternoon; something he never called us at that ungodly hour. I saw Father Felipe Estevez, who was wearing the stole, enter his room and administer the last rites. In the morning we were with him around eleven of the clock and he was sitting at the tribune to hear the Mass. He said to us, “Come at two of clock,” and we said to him, “Father, at two of clock? Because that seemed very strange to us, since he was not used to receiving at that time. We went there in the afternoon and when we got there, we found what I had already told you”[135].

135 PSV, p. 129.

Brother Cirilo, who took care of him in his last moments, says: “He had the rosary in his hands and a great calm and serenity”. By Mary’s hand he came to the Pious Schools, under her protection he lived and built the Congregation he founded, and in her company he arrived in the bosom of the Father.

A life that Fr. Juan Mármol described very well in the eulogy he delivered on March 16, 1925, eight days after his death, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda: “Those of us who had the joy of being at his side for a time - for it is a great joy to be at the side of a righteous man - how many things we could admire in him: the sovereign mastery he had over himself; his boundless humility; his unlimited charity; his substantial words, always full of unction; his kindness; that unselfishness of serving and doing right to all, in short, his goodness, which was reflected in all his actions and shone on his venerable face.”

A response to God from the perspective of the Gospel to “suffering humanity”: researcher and scientist

“To speak of Faustino Míguez is to enter into a life that was entirely dedicated to the love of God and science,” affirms Dr. Basil Cavernali[136].

136 Lucha contra la enfermedad, revisión científica del Dr. Basil Cavernali, Madrid 1965, p. 5.

He put his scientific gifts at the service of those suffering from illnesses. Like the Samaritan who walks the streets of the world with his attentive gaze, he did not ignore the physical pain of his brothers and sisters, men and women. He knew how to pour the oil of love and his science on the sick to ease the burden of their suffering.

His scientific vocation

As far as Father Faustino’s scientific vocation is concerned, we have always wondered how and when it manifested itself in him and what factors might have influenced it. At this point, we consider it necessary to point out three moments in his life in particular: his stay at the Shrine of Our Lady of Miracles, his studies at the Pious School, and his stay in Cuba.

One of Father Faustino’s first and most direct contacts, at least as far as we know, with the use of plants for therapeutic purposes was in the sanctuary of Los Milagros. Here he lived with Brother Teodoro Feijoo, a Franciscan friar who had left his monastery and sought refuge in Los Milagros, where he spent the last two thirds of his life. He almost became the guardian angel of the shrine. Dr. Manuel Vidal describes him in his novel “Don Porrazo”: “He has been here for fifty years. He was so kind-hearted that he was passionate about doing good and looked out for anyone he could do it for. For the children, he had sweets and almonds from Allariz in his pockets, a caress and two little pieces of advice; his famous herbal recipes for the simple people in these villages. For his friends, he himself made a liqueur with more than thirty herbs”[137].

137 Rivas Quintas, Eligio: Historia del Santuario de los Milagros, Orense 1983, p. 143.

Here Faustino had the opportunity to become more familiar with the therapeutic benefits of plants that he had probably already learned about in his family environment, as herbal remedies were common in his Galician country.

Due to its proximity to Xamirás, we must mention the famous pharmacy of the Convent of Celanova, which had an extraordinary external impact and took care of the town’s pharmaceutical needs for several centuries. This pharmacy was still in operation in 1834, when it was taken over by Fray Froilán Cid, a Benedictine monk. His death meant the final closure of the monastery. The list of medicines available shows that the focus was on curing illnesses through the therapeutic virtues of plants[138]. Father Faustino arrived at this Benedictine monastery in 1868 and was part of the first Piarist community to be established there. We will come back to this later.

138 De Sa Bravo, Hipólito: Boticas monacales y medicina naturista en Galicia, León 1983, p. 79-80.

A second element to consider in relation to his scientific vocation is the studies he undertook in the Pious Schools. We have already said, when speaking of his Piarist formation, that he made them according to the plan of Father Jacinto Felíu, Apostolic Commissioner, with a strong scientific orientation. It was the following[139]:

139 Cueva, Dionisio: “El P. Jacinto Felíu en Zaragoza y su plan de estudios para los juniores escolapios”, Analecta Calasanctiana 54 (1985), pp. 449-450.

COURSE OF STUDIES

which, after primary education, will be observed for the time being

by professed clerics of the Pious Schools

Mornings

Evenings

1st YEAR PHILOSOPHY

1st semester

2nd semester

Arithmetic and part of Algebra

Conclusion of Algebra

Logic and Metaphysics

Religion and Morals

2nd YEAR PHILOSOPHY

1st YEAR THEOLOGY

1st semester

2nd semester

Geometry

Trigonometry and Geometry

Dogmatic Theology

Dogmatic Theology

3rd YEAR PHILOSOPHY

2nd YEAR THEOLOGY

1st semester

2nd semester

Analytical geometry

Differential and integral calculus

Dogmatic Theology

Moral Theology

4th YEAR PHILOSOPHY

3rd YEAR THEOLOGY

1st semester

2nd semester

Mechanics

Physics

Moral Theology

Moral Theology

Father Dionisio Cueva comments on these studies. “If you look closely at his course of study (that of Father Felíu), you can easily see that mathematics has imposed itself on philosophy and theology. There are also three years of theology, divided into semesters: three semesters of dogmatic theology and three semesters of moral theology. But always in the afternoons, which, depending on the distribution of lessons, do not come close to the mornings in terms of time or intensity of teaching and study. The best bite is for mathematics: four full years, and always in the mornings, with a program of subjects at university level”[140].

140 Ibid., n.54, p. 451.

But there is another circumstance, and that is that in San Fernando, where Father Faustino studied, formal lessons in physiology, chemistry and biology were added. These subjects were taught by the best professors outside the Order[141]. Some of them already noticed Faustino’s great powers of observation and depth in the subjects he was studying. On the other hand, the school’s physics and biology laboratories were equipped with the most modern materials and instruments, since Father Inocente Palacios “renewed them in 1852 by acquiring apparatus and specimens from the best institutions in Paris”[142].

141 Bau, Calasanz: Historia de las Escuelas Pías en Cuba, Habana 1957, p.186; Cerdeiriña, José: El Padre Faustino Míguez, Madrid 1970, p. 21.

142 Diccionario Enciclopédico Escolapio, Salamanca 1983, (DENES), vol. II, p. 567.

The pace of the young students’ work was high. Class time and personal study time were noted on the timetable and had to be adhered to. And they were expected to respond seriously to the vow of teaching they had made.

The lessons that Faustino had access to were serious, of high quality, extremely scientific and were able to awaken and encourage in him the inclination to study and science.

Another important moment in relation to the subject that concerns us is his stay in Guanabacoa. Here, one of Father Faustino’s traits becomes clearer, showing us some traces of his scientific disposition: his gift for observation. In contact with the inhabitants of the island, he “observes” how they use the plants for therapeutic purposes, and he realizes that he is attracted to it. This inclination never left him” and here, in Cuba, he began his first experiments and research with the country’s flora, which he already knew well because he had to study it as a professor of Biology.

Calasanz Bau writes: “The only picturesque incident from this period concerning Father Míguez that has come down to us is his early predilection for understanding medicine. Among the books on various subjects found in the Guanabacoa library, there are some from ancient times with treatises on certain areas of medicine and specifically on homeopathy and the preparation of prills. It is not far-fetched to assume that our father’s interest in medicine began at this time”[143].

143 Bau, Calasanz, o.c., p. 186.

Father Eusebio Gómez, who lived with him in Getafe from 1899, confirms the influence of his stay in Cuba on this point: “He scientifically substantiated the effectiveness of the preparations with the healing virtues of medicinal plants, which he had come to know through direct observation of the natives of Guanabacoa”[144].

144 Summarium Proc.-ord. Matriten (Summarium), p. 145.

Father José Cerdeiriña, who lived with Father Faustino in Getafe from 1904 to 1907, also tells us that more than once he personally heard him say how he unconsciously intoxicated himself with an infusion of tobacco leaves. The doctor was unsuccessful with his diagnosis and treatment. Faustino asked for permission to take medication himself and managed to overcome the intoxication[145].

145 Cerdeiriña, José, o.c., p. 29.

After his return to Spain, Faustino Míguez came with a clearly recognizable scientific vocation, which he wanted to put at the service of the students as a professor of chemistry, physics and biology, the population of Sanlúcar through the analysis of the town’s water, and the sick through the Míguez laboratory.

The analysis of the springs of Sanlúcar of Barrameda

To the abundance and variety of existing wells in the city is the reason that “among the scarce bibliography that exists on Sanlúcar, great part of it is dedicated to its mineral waters. The first little work that was written about it was entitled “Noticia de las aguas minerales de Sanlúcar de Barrameda” published in June 1845 by its author Mr. Pedro Castelló. This was followed by that of Father Míguez, printed in Seville in 1872; and finally, Mr. Ramón Elises Blanco wrote and printed in 1896 his “Memoirs of a traveler”, dedicated to the mineral waters of our town. The most interesting of these works was that of Father Faustino Miguez”[146].

146 Barbadillo Delgado, Pedro: Historia de la ciudad de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, reproducción facsímil completa de la primera edición de 1942, n.1160, p. 591.

In Sanlúcar de Barrameda, he reveals himself to us as a man with an attentive eye to the reality in which he lives, incarnated in it and trying to respond to its needs. His words make this clear to us:

“From the first moments of my arrival in Sanlúcar I heard the variety and medicinal virtues of its waters praised not only by its neighbors, but also fervently praised by the multitude of foreigners who annually come to drink them; and since then, I conceived the project of its analysis that I did not undertake immediately because I lacked the means that require procedures, as delicate as reiterated, and indispensable to achieve it”[147].

147 Míguez, Faustino: Análisis de las aguas públicas de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Sevilla 1872, p. 11.

Therefore, upon his arrival in the city, he himself conceived the possibility of analyzing the waters of its springs, which “he sees as one of the greatest popular needs[148]. He also received requests from respectable people who encouraged his wishes regarding this enterprise. Among them were the archpriest of Sanlúcar, Francisco Rubio y Contreras, and Joaquín Hontoria, brother of the mayor of the city, José Hontoria, who was Deputy and Provincial manager of Sanlúcar[149].

148 Ibid. P. 13.

149 Barbadillo Delgado, Pedro, o.c., pp. 952 y 961.

The former, being a priest, was a perpetual patron of the “D. Francisco Jiménez de Paula” Foundation and participated in the administration of its funds. It was the patrons of this institution who provided Fr. Faustino with the instruments and means necessary to carry out the work[150].

150 Del Álamo, Anselmo: Biografía del Siervo de Dios, Madrid 1975, p. 87.

On April 16, 1872, when Fr. Faustino had been in Sanlúcar for almost three years, he received a letter from the City Council requesting him to carry out this analysis, by agreement taken in the Ordinary Session of the fifth day of the same month and year. In it, “the President stated that since there are different kinds of medicinal waters in this town whose properties are unknown because they have not been analyzed by competent persons, and having heard that among the Piarist Fathers of the San Francisco School there is one who is recognized as an excellent chemist, he believed that the occasion had arrived to take advantage of this opportunity to analyze all the waters in the town”[151].

151 Minutes of the City Council of Sanlúcar. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

The response, for its part, to this proposal of the Municipality was affirmative:

“Repeated questions and consultations on the medicinal virtues of certain waters made me decide to undertake the arduous and, for me, daring study of their therapeutic action, for love of my country and for the good of the people in which I live. Consecrated to the teaching of the people, I could have no other object than their good”[152].

152 Míguez, Faustino, o.c.,pp. 14, 15 y 91-92.

Father Faustino understands that it is a humanitarian task that will be good for the population, since with the results of the analysis it will be possible to alleviate, in part, some illnesses. He does it as a service to the people, to whom, as a Piarist, he feels consecrated[153].

153 Ibid., pp. 91-92.

He analyzed the medicinal properties of the waters of forty-four wells in the city. By his own procedure he was able to find what he was looking for: to detect the substances and elements dissolved in the water, to know their combinations and to quantify them. It was a work that demanded great dedication and brought him “difficult calculations and meticulous verifications”[154].

154 Letter to the City Council on February 6, 1873; Vilá Palá, Claudio: Documents submitted for Positio Super Virtutibus (PSV), Roma 1984, p. 78

He himself tells us about it in the introduction to the book he wrote with the results:

“Having made the first tests in carefully transported waters, I went on to repeat them at their source with special care, several times and on different occasions. After many days and repeated trials, by a procedure that belongs to me, I was able to find what I was looking for, and pointing to it with my finger, I exclaimed with joy, here it is! For my part, I naively confess that besides employing the most perfect thing known today; having prepared by myself, not only the reagents, but also the substances of which they are composed, I have repeated them several times, and on several occasions I have tried to have them reproduced by other intelligent people and even by my students, always hiding my results from them”[155].

155 Míguez, Faustino, o.c. pp.12 y 14.

Nevertheless, and in spite of everything, Father Faustino acknowledged to the public his incompetence in such a delicate matter. For this reason, once the work was finished, he asked the City Council for a commission of doctors to review the therapeutic indications he had indicated for each of the waters of the different wells and to issue a report. Through this gesture we discover that in him, science and humility go hand in hand. He manifests himself to us as a faithful son of Joseph Calasanz who invites the religious to learn humility along with the letters, without which the letters do more harm than help.

A medical commission was appointed and issued its statement in August 1872 in the following terms: “The undersigned, having taken charge with due care of the therapeutic indications of the waters of this city in the different springs it treasures, the enlightened Piarist Father Faustino Míguez has consigned in the report of the chemical analysis of the same he has practiced, not only find them adjusted to the principles of science, but to the applications that tradition had been made of them in an empirical way when their medicinal properties were not scientifically known”[156].

156 Ibid., p. 95.

The results of the work were published in the book “Análisis de las aguas públicas de Sanlúcar de Barrameda con indicación de sus virtudes medicinales” (Analysis of the public waters of Sanlúcar de Barrameda with indication of their medicinal virtues), in which he reveals his scientific gifts. The prologue is by Manuel Pizarro y Jiménez, Doctor in Medicine and Surgery, Professor of Hygiene at the School of Medicine of Seville and member of several national and foreign scientific and literary corporations.

In it he says that “among the Piarist priests, who are concerned about the achievement of their students, is the author of the present work, as modest as he is knowledgeable in the physico-chemical branches of natural science, which he cultivates with remarkable brilliance; but with so few pretensions that if he had not obeyed the requests of persons of high standing, whose indications were almost precepts for him, he would never have dared to undertake, much less publish the result of his conscientious work on the composition and qualities of the public waters of Sanlúcar de Barrameda”[157].

157 Ibid., p. 2.

The book was published by the Town Council. In the session of January 24, 1873, it was decided to send him a thousand copies, to pay him the expenses that the analysis had caused him and to express its recognition of his delicate consideration for having carried out this work, which not only accredited him as an illustrious chemist, but also as a lover of this town, which from now on would consider him as one of its best sons. In February 1873, Father Faustino thanked the Municipal Corporation for these details, and wrote that

“I cannot consent, in the difficult circumstances, which the Municipal Corporation is going through, to impose new sacrifices, when I, inspired by the desire to be useful to this population for which I am so truly interested, it was always my purpose to pay for it out of my poor and exhausted pocket. Since the City Council which you worthily preside has dispensed me an honor that I certainly do not deserve in your highly flattering words, and counted me in the number of its good sons, I have achieved a reward far superior to my merits, which I did not expect and which compensates me with usury for the bitterness of seven months of hard work, consecrated to the thankless and obscure work of analysis”[158].

158 PSV, p. 77.

Through this task, Father Faustino puts his science at the service of the people. He allows himself to be challenged once again by the needy, who is now the one suffering under the weight of physical pain, and moved by love, he wants to contribute to alleviate his illness:

“This is proved to me by the theoretical-practical study of its curative effects that I was obliged to undertake, as well as by the love of science that I profess for suffering humanity, for whose teaching I consign these results; for if, after the example of my Divine Master, I must look first of all to the health of the soul, I am also obliged to attend, according to my strength, to that of the body”[159].

159 Míguez, Faustino, o.c., p. 48.

His deepest personal experience, in this fact, is that the Lord uses simple instruments for great enterprises[160]:

160 Pigretti, Mª Celia: Cartas del Siervo de Dios Faustino Enero (Ep), Madrid 1985, n.131.

“The people of Sanlúcar has urged me to publish it, not without overcoming the powerful obstacles that, at the thought of doing so, presented themselves to my mind, in the intimate conviction of my scarce worth for an undertaking of such transcendence”[161].

161 Míguez, Faustino, o.c., p. 17.

The “Míguez Laboratory”

“The initial motive for Father Faustino’s interest in medicine was the desire to practice charity with the sick”[162].

162 Summarium, p. 24.

We can affirm that the “Míguez Laboratory” is one of the legacies of Fr. Faustino to humanity, and that it arises from the conjunction of several characteristic traits in him: his approach to the needs of the man of his time, his concern for those who suffer in the body, his love of science, and the conviction that “God has placed in nature sufficient means to cure all kinds of diseases, precisely in plants; and that science is in knowing the virtue of plants and knowing how to apply it in each case”[163].

163 Summarium, p. 152.

After the approach he had in Cuba to the therapeutic properties of plants, we find him in the Monastery of San Rosendo, in Celanova, in contact with documentation referring to the Apothecary that existed there and that in 1868 had practically disappeared due to the laws of exclaustration.

There are two sources of information about the stocks of the said apothecary’s shop: an inventory and a copy made or recovered by the Piarists upon their arrival at the Monastery, which they gave to a pharmacist in Orense. Between the two there are notable divergences in the writing of the medicines and in their number. We are interested in what the following text says in this regard: “One can see in the recovered copy the hand of a knowledgeable person who corrected the spelling mistakes that the government representatives made when writing the names that the apothecary monk dictated to them”[164]. It would not be strange that it was Father Faustino who made the corrections alluded to, given his knowledge on the subject.

164 De Sa Bravo, Hipólito: o.c. pp. 80 y 87.

We have seen how, during his stay in Sanlúcar, he acquired fame as a scientist and as a wise man, for the work he did on the springs. From this moment on, “it is logical and natural that many patients came to consult him about their ailments so that he could indicate to them, based on his studies and experiences, the most appropriate water for their relief and cure”[165] .

165 Del Álamo, Anselmo, o.c., p. 90.

From this Andalusian city, Father Faustino arrived at El Escorial. We do not know that he dedicated himself to the care of patients there. On the other hand, we do know that he took advantage of his position as Librarian to consult works on Botany and Chemistry, according to Father David Alvarez, who met him in 1899 in Getafe: “I have heard that he dedicated himself in a special way to the study of medicine during his stay in El Escorial”[166].

166 Summarium, p. 3.

It is in Monforte de Lemos, where we see him intensely dedicated to the cultivation of medicinal plants and the application of their healing properties. In the school’s vegetable garden, he has set aside a plot of land where he plants and cares for the plants he later uses. “Since these times, he has been directing his experiences and practices to a deeper knowledge of botany and the medicinal properties of plants. He analyzes, experiments, studies the plants in their stems, roots, seeds, and by means of tisanes, infusions and extracts he obtains cures”[167].

167 PSV, p. 92.

Here, in Monforte, he was able to experiment and verify the efficacy of the extracts he prepared. This was the beginning of what was to reach its full development in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the city where the Míguez Laboratory had its origin.

Faustino returned to this city again in 1879, as we have seen. The population has not forgotten his scientific contribution. In addition to his classes at the school, he continued with the profound study of plants and their properties. He prepared some extracts with medicinal properties and the patients began, once again, to come to Fr. Faustino to consult him and obtain some of his preparations. At the beginning, all this took place on a small scale. As his stay in Sanlúcar progresses, his fame and the number of sick people who come to him increases. Once the Association was founded, the young women sometimes helped him in the preparation of these medicinal compounds.

But between the years 1885, date of the foundation of the Institute, and 1888, the year of his transfer to Getafe, a transcendental event took place in the therapeutic activity of Father Faustino. Faustino himself tells us about it in the letter he wrote to the Father Procurator of the Pious Schools in 1910:

“The Dean of Medicine came to me at that time and begged me, in his name and in the name of his colleagues in Seville, to study and cure the illness of a professor who had been evicted by them. When he saw that I was surprised by his proposal and that I wanted to give up what they were avoiding, he replied that since I had obtained such a notable success in the analysis and therapeutic study of the waters of Sanlúcar, which so many had tried in vain, I could also achieve what they were proposing to me”[168].

168 Summarium, p. 259.

The name “Dean of Medicine” was given to the Director of the School of Medicine, which was later incorporated as a Faculty of the University. In those years, the position was held by Mr. Antonio Rivera y Ramos. We cannot forget that in this School, Professor Manuel Pizarro, who had prefaced the work of Father Faustino in 1872, was teaching. In all probability this would be the channel through which they came to him.

He goes on to say in the same writing cited above that since the Dean was not very fond of the school, it was advised and it seemed more opportune for him to agree to the proposal. So, he tells us,

“I went to the Lord so that if it was his Will that I continue at the head of the Association in question, he would enlighten me to cure the said illness and provide me with the means to help it”[169].

169 Ibid., p. 260.

And he devoted himself to the study of the disease and its healing possibilities. This fact led him to a much deeper investigation of the therapeutic properties of plants. A subject in which he became “well documented, being able to say that he knew and handled the best texts and read foreign journals and knew the latest news that had been published, particularly of Applied Botany, and in general of all the knowledge that existed on this subject; all of which he submitted to his fine and delicate observation”[170] . This fact is confirmed by the list of science books that made up his library.

170 Ibid., p.24.

From the information we have, it seems that the sick person was Mr. Manuel Bedmar, Doctor of Law, who in 1890 was the Rector of the University of Seville for the second time. It is clear from the letters that Fr. Faustino maintained a good relationship with him[171]. His name appears in the list of persons mentioned in the famous letter of Fr. Provincial, who requested his transfer back to Sanlúcar[172]. On the other hand, Manuel Bedmar seems to be very interested in doing something for Fr Faustino:

171 Ep. n.176, 177, 178, 179, 209, 224 y 242.

172 PSV, p. 171.

“The matter regarding Carmen Barrio and Regla was because Mr. de Bedmar even begged me to ask him for something, and I remembered them so that he could give them some help, if possible, to help them live honestly”[173].

173 Ep. n.148.

The patient was cured of the disease. We suspect, although we cannot be sure, that he was suffering from diabetes and that the medicine prepared by Father Faustino was the Antidiabetic. He tells us,

“Once the sick person was cured, I communicated to the Superior or Director of the Association the remedy that I had used, indicating at the same time the way to prepare it and telling her my intention in undertaking that work, that if I achieved what was intended, the proceeds would be distributed in the preparation of medicines, in alms and masses for the blessed souls in purgatory, and for the benefit of the Association”[174].

174 Summarium, p. 260.

The medicinal preparation to which he refers most in his writings to Mother Angeles is precisely the Antidiabetic. In the letter of January 16, 1890, he gives the impression that it is giving an effective result and also asks her to

“…keep absolute secrecy about the medicine of diabetes, which must be worth something to you. The bottles, I told you, should be like those of the water of Loeches, if I remember correctly; but there is no need to worry about people like that, they will reciprocate”[175].

175 Ep. n.127.

What this fact meant is expressed in the words of Father Faustino himself:

“The resonance of this success meant that afterwards, both the aforementioned dean and other doctors came to me for the cure of other illnesses that led to the discovery of the other specifics that the Director was preparing, although in a somewhat static way and receiving for them what they spontaneously gave”[176].

176 Summarium, p. 260.

Therefore, it is almost possible to affirm that the doctors of medicine were the ones who contributed, in a great way, to the appearance of the medicines that, with the passage of time, would be elaborated in the Míguez Laboratory, in Getafe.

But the medicines arise, above all, from the need and contact of Father Faustino with the human reality that surrounds him. This is how Father Eusebio Gómez, already mentioned, puts it to us: “the servant of God took advantage of conversations of the men who cultivated the land to find the composition of its specifics. For example, on one occasion when my father spoke to him of a plant that had the virtues of stimulating urinary secretion, he begged him to send him a quantity of this plant”[177].

177 Ibid., p. 146.

It is also the doctors, in this case those of the town of Sanlúcar, who react to the success of the medicinal preparations with threats of denunciations. The same ones who in 1872 praised him for the analysis carried out. Mother Angeles in her memoirs tells us that “the doctors got together and went to the school of the Fathers, complained to the rector, agreeing to show it and communicate it to the community to know its opinion and communicate it to the Provincial”[178].

178 Memoria Madre Angeles, typewritten (MMA).

Faustino was even forbidden to care for the sick and to prepare medicines. “Meanwhile, the Father was in suspense; but he used to come to see us and tell us about these setbacks so that we would ask the Lord to settle this delicate matter,” Mother Angeles continues. It was in this circumstance that he was transferred to Getafe. The young novices continue in Sanlúcar preparing some medicines, since he has given them the formulas as he has been elaborating them.

“For this purpose, I ordered them to choose one of them to be the depository of the secret of the composition of the specifics and the only one in charge of the preparation of the extracts, associating her with others who help in the presentation of the extracts. Up to now they have done this on a small scale in their Mother House in Sanlúcar de Barrameda”[179].

179 López, Salvador: Faustino Míguez, Sch.P. Fundador de las Religiosas Calasancias (FMS), Salamanca 1988, p.299.

We have already said that when he arrived at his new assignment, he spent four years without worrying about the sick and medicines, given the difficulties that arose in Sanlúcar. But the echoes of previous successes brought him new commitments, which he attended to with effective results. This provoked an avalanche of sick people who required the preparation of medicines on a large scale. Father Eusebio Gómez recalls that when he was assigned to Getafe in 1899, Fr. Faustino’s small laboratory was functioning normally and was already famous for its products[180].

180 Summarium, p. 146.

As he had neither space, nor time, nor anyone to help him, he opted to prepare the extracts and supply them to a pharmacist who would protect, present and sell them under his responsibility and for a percentage. With the passage of time, he discovered that the pharmacist was multiplying the bottles of medicine, decreasing the doses of extract that he was prescribing, with the consequent harm to the patients.

Faced with this circumstance, he thought that the only solution was to ask the sisters to ask some of them to move to Getafe to be able to take care of the preparation of the specifics:

“…so as not to make myself an accomplice to the criminal conduct of the pharmacist, I wrote to the Associates to take charge of everything, if they wanted to, that I could no longer continue. They did so, accepting the conditions of the distribution of the product obtained, and designating one to represent them and sign a public contract with another pharmacist who for a fixed amount covers with his title and dispenses under his responsibility the medicines prepared by that one, and they have been doing so for four years now”[181].

181 Ibid., p. 261.

In 1906, they granted this request. The first community was formed by Mothers Consuelo, Magdalena and Purificación[182]. In September of the same year, Mother Natividad joined the community, who was to receive the secret of their elaboration.

182 Crónicas de la Casa de Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

In the year 1912, he confirmed by testament the cession of the specifics to the Congregation founded by him. On this date Sagrario Martín, a Calasanzian sister, began her studies of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Madrid, by express wish of Father Faustino. She was the first technical director of the laboratory. In 1922 the official authorization as a pharmaceutical laboratory was granted by the health authorities.

After a long journey, Fr. Faustino confesses that the effective results of the specifics have given him many great satisfactions, but also that there have been great disappointments and bitterness, to the point of being on the verge of leaving if it had not been for the patients themselves, whom he loves and in whom he discovers a need for relief and consolation in the midst of their pain.

Attention to the sick

Fr. Faustino “composed his medicines mainly to do good to the needy, gratuitously”[183]. He was sensitive to those in physical pain, at whose service he put his knowledge, with the preparation of the various specifics. The transcendence of this dimension of Father Faustino is evident in the following statements:

183 Summarium, pp. 5 y 78.

“There were many sick people who came to the servant of God for healing, to the point that in the small square in front of the school it was not infrequent to see twenty or thirty carts of people who had come to see him from the villages”[184].

184 Ibid., p. 151.

“The prestige that the Father acquired in the art of medicine soon became extraordinary, in such a way that when he went to Daimiel there were many sick people who consulted him; hence his products were in great demand since they cured various diseases”[185].

185 Ibid., p. 114.

“At that time of his life, no one can count the countless sick people who came to him to seek health”[186].

186 PSV, p. 414.

A letter he wrote to Mother Concepción Hidalgo, Superior of the house in Chipiona, helps us to know the magnitude of his fame as a knowledgeable man in the field of medicine:

“Great satisfaction I would have in being able to correspond to Father P.V., agreeing to what you indicate to me, but it is forbidden to me and therefore I have to obey. I have had the greatest commitments in that sense and I could do nothing to satisfy the people who mediated. There was the case of mediating the Minister of State and another of the Rota to go to see a sick person in Paris, and nothing. Inside Spain there will be few provinces from where some request of the same kind has not come with the recommendation of persons of high category, and nothing. If I would open that door for one, they would not let me stop a single day at school; I would be a wandering Jew, a bird out of its nest… anything but religious”[187].

187 Ep. n.502.

The dedication to this therapeutic activity provided him with good friendships and intense personal knowledge. Thus, for example, with Mr. Manuel Bedmar, to whom we have already made reference; with Mr. Juan de Argüeso, who in gratitude provided him with a house for the Association; with D. Tiburcio Ruiz de la Hermosa, a native of Daimiel and parish priest of the Church of San Pedro. He tells us that in 1910, when he was sick with diabetes, the veterinary of the town recommended that he would go to see Father Faustino[188], and so he did. He managed to control his illness, and a great mutual appreciation arose, which intensified with frequent contacts, given that the sisters founded a house in that town in 1912.

188 Summarium, p. 71.

D. Tiburcio defines him as a man who trusted totally in Providence. He recalls what was his familiar phrase: “God wills it so, it will be for the best”[189]. He also expresses the delicacy that characterized him in his dealings with him, through an event that happened to him: “since I smoked at that time, on some occasions I offered him a cigarette and he always answered me, ‘I do not have that pleasure. And when I asked him why he was talking about pleasure, he told me that if he said vice, he was treating me as vicious”[190].

189 Ibid., p. 86.

190 Ibid., p. 74.

Some other names of sick people cured by him are: the Countess of Guaquil, Father Miján, -rector of the House of Getafe-[191], Mr. Jesús Utrilla, -natural of Daimiel-[192], and many others who came to consult him. “For him there was no distinction between rich and poor. Moreover, I understand that he had a preference for the poor and I know that he never demanded anything either for the consultations or for the medicines”[193].

191 Ibid., p. 151.

192 Summarium Patroni responsioni additum, p. 8.

193 Summarium, p. 11.

It has come down to us that his therapeutic activity culminated “in the cure of Alfonso XIII himself, at the request of Her Majesty the Queen Mother who, disregarding the advice of the doctors, turned to the friar of Getafe and obtained the cure of her royal son”[194]. Father Leonardo Rodriguez, declared in the Diocesan Process for his Beatification: “I have heard that having intervened in the cure of King Alfonso XIII, while he was still a child, the Queen offered him the reward and he asked the Queen to let him do good to his sick people”[195].

194 PSV, pp. 412-413.

195 Ibid., p. 413.

From history we know that King Alfonso XIII, approximately four years after his birth, fell ill: “How great were the fears of the court when a terrible news for the future of the country was disclosed. King Alfonso XIII fell seriously ill and it was feared, not without reasons, that he would suffer an attack of meningitis”[196].

196 Alarcón Benito, Juan: Historia anecdótica de España, Madrid 1996, p. 150.

There is no written record of his recovery. We are only left with the account given by many, we can say almost all, the witnesses of the Process. The question arises as to how Fr. Faustino was approached in this case. Margarita Artime, a sister of the Divine Sheperdess, affirms that it was through Alejandro Pidal y Mon because he knew Fr. Faustino and had news of the treatments he was performing[197]. We know that he had a relationship with him, as well as with some members of the Royal Family. We have the following testimony from an interview conducted with Father Faustino, in January 1901, in the newspaper El Nacional: “Have you cured people known in society,” I asked him. Yes, sir; countless people have come recommended by the Infanta Isabel and even by Her Majesty the Queen. He recounts countless cases, among which we remember a relative of Mr. Alejandro Pidal, a marquise, and many others who obtained a satisfactory result”[198].

197 PSV, p. 413.

198 Ibid., 445.

We know from some letters that in 1907 he wanted to obtain an audience with the Queen Mother, to request her support, before the Bishop, in obtaining the permission to transfer the Novitiate of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess from Sanlúcar to Getafe[199].

199 Ep. n.337 y 359.

Another circumstance that we have to take into account for its possible relation with the fact to which we refer, is that in 1851 the Dukes of Montpensier, Felipe Luis de Orleans and Luisa Fernanda de Borbón, -parents of María de las Mercedes, first wife of Alfonso XII-, who had previously spent some time in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, decided to provide themselves with a more fixed and comfortable residence there[200]. For this reason, “among the illustrious visitors to Sanlúcar we must mention Don Alfonso XII who, with his mother Isabel II and his wife Queen Mercedes, spent a few days in Sanlúcar; the same monarch with his second wife, Doña María Cristina, spent a few days in the palace in 1882”[201]. In this last visit, Father Faustino was already in Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

200 Barbadillo, Pedro: o.c., p. 662.

201 Ibid., p. 866.

The Duchess Luisa Fernanda visited the school of the Association at the end of 1889[202]. Faustino, in a letter of December of the same year, points out that the examinations were presided over by the Infanta[203]. Could it be the Infanta Isabel, sister of Alfonso XII, niece of the Duchess Luisa Fernanda de Borbón and cousin of María de las Mercedes?

202 Artículo del Sr. Romero, en el periódico “El Movimiento Católico”. Pigretti, Celia: Abrieron el surco, sigamos sus huellas, Madrid 1984, p. 82.

203 Ep. n.114.

Father Faustino’s great therapeutic activity could not go unnoticed by anyone, least of all by doctors and pharmacists. The latter accused him of being an intruder in the medical profession for his attention to the sick, and in the pharmaceutical profession for the elaboration of medicines[204]. They sued him before the Official College of Pharmacists of the Province of Madrid, Getafe delegation. The matter reached the Civil Governor, before whom Fr. Faustino was denounced as an intruder[205].

204 Ibid., p. 417.

205 Summarium, p. 257.

This was reported to the Provincial, Justo de Pedro, on January 26, 1901, and he was earnestly requested to order Father Faustino to abstain from preparing medicines and visiting the sick[206].

206 PSV, p. 431.

Legally he was protected from these complaints, since from the beginning of his arrival in Getafe, since he did not have space or time, he prepared and sold medicines through a pharmacist. He later obtained legal authorization[207].

207 FMS, pp. 290-291.

As a result of these events, articles also appeared in the press, some in favor and others criticizing his actions. These accusations and criticisms caused him much suffering, which he was able to bear with great patience for love of “suffering humanity”.

Income from the sale of the specifics

We know from the testimony of the patients themselves that Fr. Faustino did not charge them anything for the visits they made to him and in which he indicated to them the medicines they should take. But on many occasions, it was the patients themselves who, when they recovered their health, in gratitude, offered him alms. He “never sought profit in the distribution of his specifics, but rather to favor the poor and sick”[208].

208 Summarium, p. 141.

We can affirm that this is the motive of Father Faustino’s therapeutic activity. And that is why, from the beginning of his dedication to medicine, he made three parts in the distribution of the income that this activity brings him: “The first for alms for Masses prayed for the souls in Purgatory that I wanted to appear as protective members. The second for laboratory expenses, ingredients, containers, fees of the pharmacist in charge, wages of the workers in charge of the presentation of the specifics. The third for the needs of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess, teaching material… and for some gifts to the Community to which I belong”[209].

209 PSV, p. 477.

The amount destined for the Association was used for the purchase of school and teaching materials, the payment of rent, and prizes for the girls. He never wanted them to be used for the upkeep of the sisters because, according to him, they should live off their work[210].

210 Ibid., p. 454.

Later on, he dedicated this income to the purchase of land for the houses of the Institute, such as the “El Picacho” estate in Sanlúcar and the “El Pensamiento” estate in Getafe. Other times it was for great works, as in the case of the schools of Chipiona and Sanlúcar. From the letters we know some of the amounts he sent for this purpose:

“That by the beginning of next September you can count on three thousand pesetas that will be sent to Sanlúcar or there”[211]. “I enclose a receipt for seven thousand pesetas delivered to the Bank of Spain in Madrid[212]. There you have what was promised. You will not be able to say that I have broken my word”[213].

211 Ep. n.266; Crónicas Casa de Chipiona, p. 86. Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio de Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

212 Ep. n.279; Crónicas Casa de Chipiona, p. 87. Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio de Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

213 Ep. n.282.

In this last case, in the chronicles of the house it appears that the amount sent was twelve thousand five hundred pesetas[214]. In 1904 he also acquired some threshing floors adjacent to the school of the Piarist of Getafe for a playground for the students:

214 Crónicas Casa de Chipiona, p. 87. Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio de Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

“This is what I was doing until the end of the year, when I learned that someone was trying to buy the threshing floors adjacent to the gardens of this school, which would supervise everything that was done in it, and that the school did not want or could not buy them, so I decided to buy them in agreement with Father Rector and fence them with a railing… this community turned them into a park for its own recreation and exclusively for the schoolchildren”[215].

215 PSV, p. 476.

All this income was administered by Father Faustino who had the necessary authorization. On the one hand, this was one of the powers granted to him by the Archbishop of Seville when he was appointed Director of the Association: “Authorizing him, moreover, by the present letter, so that because of their importance and relationship with the spiritual good, conservation and promotion of the Institute, he may have the necessary intervention and direction, even in temporal and economic matters, if the high aims that the Institute proposes are to be achieved”[216] .

216 Ibid., p. 455.

He also had the verbal permission of Father Manuel Pérez who authorized him to use the alms from the medicines. He himself tells us:

“Afterwards, I asked Father Manuel Perez if it seemed good to him that I should use for the benefit of the Congregation and in works of charity and beneficence what the specifics were beginning to produce, and he answered me verbatim, ´there is no better thing´”[217].

217 Ibid., p. 455.

Nevertheless, he brought everything related to this subject to the attention of Father General, Adolfo Brattina, to whom he asked in a letter of 1905

“Please, tell me whether or not I can continue to make use of the permission given me by the General Vicar “[218] .

218 Ibid., pp. 476-477.

After several years of exchanging letters on the subject with Father General and the Procurator of the Pious Schools, Father Faustino is asked to confirm, by means of a will, the transfer already made of the secret and the benefits of the specifics, with the distribution in the three lots. He should also cede the real estate to the sisters and to the Piarist house of Getafe, as appropriate.

The sisters continued to respect the distribution indicated by the one who started the work. Thus, the charitable purpose of this legacy of Father Faustino is a reality.

A response to God from the evangelical gaze of the marginalized woman: founder of a new religious congregation

As a Piarist priest, the first great call of God to Faustino Miguez, he lived in the service of children and young people, preferably the poorest[219].

219 Vilá Palá, Claudio: Documentos presentados para la Positio Super Virtutibus (PSV), Roma 1984, p. 520.

In Father Faustino’s life, Sanlúcar de Barrameda stands for a view of the world from the heart of God, who has a preference for the suffering, the marginalized and the unconsidered.

The Lord will knock on his door again and he will answer out of love and full trust: “Here I am, Lord.

The school of friends

Father Faustino arrives in Sanlúcar de Barrameda for the second time, with all his senses open to human reality,

“From the first moments of my arrival in Sanlúcar, I heard”[220].

220 Míguez, Faustino: Análisis de las aguas públicas de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Sevilla 1872, p. 11.

As a Piarist, he knew that he was the patrimony of the children he truly loved and gave them the best of himself. Father Faustino’s day revolved around them, in the classrooms, in the corridors, in the playground.

But Faustino Míguez is a man with a broad, boundless vision, capable of going beyond the limits of his pedagogical work at school and looking at the entire reality of his surroundings.

It was through the confessional that he met Catalina García and learned that a friend of her, Francisca Martínez, took a group of girls into her home and taught them their first letters. His great apostolic zeal and love of education made him want to get to know this simple little school in Calle San Nicolas in front of the Piarist house.

So it was that one afternoon, after he had finished his school activities, he crossed the threshold of the school door and came into contact with a “structure” that was widespread in Andalusia and little known to him: the “School of Friends”.

The spread of these schools was partly due to the 1838 law regulating primary education. Article 17 establishes an exception that became the prevailing reality in the 19th century: “In those towns where it has not been possible to establish a complete elementary school for lack of means and resources, an incomplete school shall be established, in which the most indispensable parts, such as reading, writing and Christian doctrine, shall be taught by the person who performs the service, whether or not he bears the title of teacher, if his habits do not detract from it”[221] .

221 Historia de los pueblos de España. Tierra Fronteriza (1). Andalucía y Canarias. Ed. Argos Vergara. 1984, pág, 223.

In Andalusia, 80% of the schools were of this type. Furthermore, public primary education had great difficulties in the second half of the 19th century, as municipal councils could not pay teachers due to municipal expropriation.

All this meant that there were more and more pious people who, without much knowledge, took girls into their homes and taught them the first rules. Moreover, perhaps in the early days of these Schools of Friends, “the first and most important goal was not the school; they were to be seen as a place where the children could be gathered and later learn their first letters and prayers and some catechism”[222].

222 Luque Ortega, Inmaculada: Primeros pasos de una Institución Educativa, Salamanca 1985, p. 37.

The centers that existed in the city when Father Faustino arrived were the English School for children of this nation, the Commercial School, the Royal Consulate, the Conciliar Seminary, which was transformed into an Institute of higher education in 1842, the Pious Schools, plus the Hospice, a foundling home, a free school, and another for forty girls. These educational facilities were clearly not sufficient to accommodate the estimated 2,500 pupils[223].

223 Cfr. Ibid., p. 28.

Father Faustino’s contacts with the “School of Friends” became increasingly frequent. On his walks through the streets of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, he discovers something that impresses him as an educator, just as Calasanz did it in Rome with the children: there are many illiterate women and the girls sometimes do not even have access to these schools, let alone to an education center.

He reflects on the causes of this situation. He notes that there are not enough public and private schools. Moreover, the boys are given preferential treatment! The schools of friends are the only solution so far for this reality, and the educational offer that is more within the reach of women. And she senses that it is clearly inadequate.

Before his eyes and from God’s perspective, a new marginalized person appears: the woman who is abandoned, alone and in need. He realizes that in practice she is denied the right to education and thus also her place in the construction of the world according to God’s will.

He “cannot ignore” this new form of exclusion that he discovers. As part of his work as a Piarist, he makes some of his time available to work in the small school, explaining some subjects and, above all, providing the girls and their tutors with a solid Christian education.

Nicolasa and Pepita also work with Francisca and Catalina. He offers these good women his unconditional support. This can be seen in the first document we have about the Association: “After consulting with the worthiest priests about their spirit and desires, they obtained their approval, and encouraged by their exhortations, they dedicated themselves to the practice of teaching and charity in this town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda”[224].

224 PSV p. 262.

A new call began to emerge within Father Faustino…

Faustino Míguez: moved by the Spirit

In May 1884, Catalina and Francisca sent a document, signed only by the two of them, to the Archbishop of Seville, in which they expressed their desire to become religious and asked for the approval of a Congregation. Attached to the application was the prospectus of the Association of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess, which states: “The Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess consecrate themselves to seek souls and lead them to God, engaging to this end in all works of charity and with all kinds of people. Entirely consecrated to God, they consecrate themselves to Him through the three vows common to every religious congregation and through their own special vow”[225].

225 PSV, p. 263.

In July, the Archbishop’s Office replied that the “sisters should continue as before and try out their vocation”[226].

226 Ibid., p. 266.

Faustino remained close to this simple work, encouraged those responsible and offered his help. One day, when he spoke to the ladies about the matter, he told them that the idea of founding a congregation of sisters seemed to him to have been inspired by God, so that by forming the hearts of the girls they could become fit for the future and thus lead many souls to God”[227].

227 Memorias Madre Angeles, typewritten, (MMA), p. 1.

An important event took place in October 1884, for it was to be the confirmation for him of what he had long felt as a call within him. Cardinal Friar Ceferino González, Archbishop of Seville, paid a pastoral visit to the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. He was a Dominican and one of the main figures in the rediscovery of Thomism, which produced a group of interesting disciples, both Dominican and laypeople, including Alejandro Pidal y Mon[228]. In June 1883, he assumed the archiepiscopal see. Two years later, in March, he was appointed primate of Toledo[229].

228 García-Villaoslada, Ricardo: Historia de la Iglesia en España, tomo V, Madrid 1979, p. 405.

229 PSV, p. 242, nota 8.

When he went to Sanlúcar, he was used to be a guest in the Community of the Piarist Fathers. This circumstance favored the meeting with Father Faustino. They talked about the small school, which was still unknown to many, and about Catalina and Francisca’s request. Father Ceferino Gonzalez sensed that this humble work, in which Father Faustino was already involved, could be the seed of a gift of the Spirit to the Church. And he encouraged him to take it into his hands in response to a new call from God.

Barely fifteen days after this visit, Faustino Míguez presented the foundations of the new association to the Archdiocese of Seville and pointed out something important:

“With the haste that his importunate occupations always impose on him, he has today drafted the proposal and the accompanying foundation Bases, and begs Your Eminence to forgive him the delay and the many errors that are beyond the control of a man who, like no other, wishes to fulfill his missions with the punctuality that is so dear to Your Eminence and to the humble chaplain and useless servant”[230].

230 Oficio que acompaña a las Bases de la Asociación. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio de Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

In a letter of 1889 to Mother Angeles, the first sister of the Institute, he says to her:

“I do not want Mr. Romero to mention me in his review, but to present it as the realization of an ideal of Cardinal Friar Ceferino González, who proposed and approved its foundations”[231].

231 Pigretti, Celia: Cartas del Siervo de Dios Faustino Míguez (Ep.), Madrid 1985, n.114.

The will of God is revealed to him with clarity through human mediation. It is the definitive sign! The road was hard and difficult. But, as always, there was not a single obstacle on his part. The answer: Yes, Lord, here is my life. He set off with the certainty and trust that God would take care of him.

He did not forget that, as a Piarist religious, he needed the authorization and permission of his superiors,

“I told him that my obligations did not allow this and that I could not do it without the permission of my superiors, to which he replied: “You asked for it, and I did. Father General Vicar delegated to Father Provincial and he authorized me”[232].

232 Summarium Proc.-ord. Matriten (Summarium), p. 259.

Father Faustino, driven by the Spirit, made himself an encounter with the marginalized of his time and, like Calasanz in Rome, he will not pass by.

The great intuition of this man is to see in the girls of his time “the wives and mothers of tomorrow and thus the families and the Sanlúcar of the 20th century”[233]. He becomes a true advocate of the importance of the role of women in the home.

233 Ep. n.201.

“What benefit will you not be able to bring to society, which is made up of families that are generally what the mothers of yesterday and the mothers of tomorrow are what the girls of today are; imagine how much or little, good or bad, your behavior can influence the future society”[234].

234 Testamento espiritual de nuestro Padre Fundador y otros contenidos (TE),Madrid 1979, p. 18.

When Father Faustino looks at the girls, he discovers in them:

The “apostle of the family”. “The flourishing of religion has always been in direct proportion to the virtue of the female sex, to the sublime souls, to the heroines who are so well trained in the domestic sphere, when the mother is as she should be and exercises there the apostolic functions that belong to her”[235].

235 Pláticas espirituales del Padre Faustino (PE), Madrid 1985, p. 194

The “most interesting part of society”. “To teach them as well as possible to make them good Christian women, good daughters, good wives, good mothers and useful members of society, of which they will one day be the most interesting part”[236].

236 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, pp. 196-197, n.XIII.

The bearer of peace. “Your families already look up to you as angels of peace who will draw the blessings of heaven upon you, and they already rejoice to see in the distance the happiness of those whom you must form with your virtues when you become a family”[237].

237 PE, p. 194.

The “soul of the family”. “Understand that you must flee from everything that can make you less worthy of the high destiny that may await you, the soul of the family and the decorum of the society of which you are to form the most interesting part”[238].

238 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 211, n.III.

From her charismatic experience, he sensed the need of girls for someone to guide them along the path of human Christian promotion so that they could fulfill their role in society. And he set out in search of her to mold her heart and lead her to God.

As a born pedagogue and Piarist, he is convinced that only a holistic education can enable a woman to fulfill her mission and prepare her for all circumstances of life. Girls need education,

“so that they become docile, noble and grateful souls, daughters of blessing, faithful wives, Christian mothers and zealous apostles in their families”[239].

239 Ibid., p. 203, n.II.

He is convinced that female children must be freed from the darkness of ignorance and accompanied by love and closeness to God, who is the “truth”. Therefore, urged by the Spirit, he is ready to respond to this cry.

And his response makes the Kingdom of God present among the marginalized, with a new founding project, the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess, whose aim is

“To form the heart and enlighten the intelligence of the fair sex, to make it cultured and civilized, according to the spirit of Jesus Christ, so that one day it can be the soul of the family and the salvation of society”[240].

240 Reglamento del Colegio Divina Pastora de Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

The Association of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess

It arose from the combination of the educational situation of women in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the charismatic experience of Faustino Míguez.

On January 2, 1885, the foundations of the Association of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess were approved and Father Faustino was appointed director of the Association. The canonical installation took place a month later at 7, La Mar Street.

The name of the Association, “Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess”, already appears in the first documents sent to the Archbishopric of Seville. We know that this was the name preferred by Father Faustino. One of the reasons for this was undoubtedly the fact that the institution was founded in Sanlúcar, where the Capuchin Fathers were present and where there was great devotion to the Divine Shepherdess. It could also have been an invocation that he had known since childhood. He later found it again in Cuba, from where the Capuchin Esteban de Adoaín had just left when he arrived in 1857. The Archbishop of Seville, Fray Ceferino Gonzalez, also had a great love for the Divine Shepherdess.

The fact that Faustino chose this name can be seen as a simple sign of fitting in with reality, because he knows how to welcome what is appropriate to the place. But he did not even want to dictate to the members the name that the new Association should bear, suggesting that they leave it to chance. Mother Angeles tells us: “Each one said the devotion she liked; Father, as the most experienced, put it to a vote, and each one put the name of her devotion and he put the name Divine Shepherdess on his. He entrusted himself completely to the Lord and to Our Lady, and on the day of Pentecost, under the presidency of the Father, a vote was taken and more than three times the name of the Divine Shepherdess came out”[241].

241 MMA, p. 7.

The purpose of the Association is clearly and concretely expressed in pastoral terms in the Fundamentals:

“…to seek souls and lead them to God by all means accessible to charity,” “to prevent the innocence of the heart from being lost in the darkness of ignorance[242], through education.

242 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 45.

Some women felt drawn to this ministry of love for female children by God’s invitation to follow his Son. They knocked on the doors of the newly founded Association and helped to prepare everything necessary for the new school, which was soon to begin its work.

Father Faustino wanted to create a solid foundation for the work, both on a religious and educational level. He was looking for a qualified teacher who could lead the school as director.

Through Catalina Garcia, they contacted Mr. Gabriel Briones, a military man who lived in Seville and knows a young woman who had just finished her teaching degree. Her name was Angeles González León. Mr Gabriel suggested that she go to Sanlúcar to run the future school. The young woman agrees, “with the prior permission of her confessor, who is a priest of the Oratory of San Felipe Neri”[243]. From Sanlúcar, they wrote to her “to inform her of the fee or pension that had been assigned to her and whether it would be right for her to prepare her things so that she could come after Easter”[244].

243 Ibid., p. 2.

244 Ibid., p. 2.

On April 4, 1885, after the conditions had been accepted, Catalina García picked her up in Seville. The morning after her arrival in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, she went to see Father Faustino. When he saw her, he said to her:

“Who knows if you will not be a foundation stone for this building”[245].

245 Ibid., p. 3.

Angeles probably did not understand the meaning of these words. But she kept them in her heart and understood them later. Now she only joined as a teacher.

On April 6th of the same year, the school premises were inaugurated and on April 9th, elementary and high school classes for girls and adults began in rented rooms on Carril de San Diego.

From the very first day, a large number of students from all social classes attended the school, especially the poor and needy who had no other educational opportunities. The participation of girls who belonged to a wealthier social class and made a certain contribution made it possible to maintain the nascent center. In the same month of April, three classes were already in operation.

The beginning of the new Association is an event that the Archbishopric of Seville takes up in its Bulletin. In it, an article is published in which the spirit of this work is explained. We summarize some of the points in which the aim of the Association is highlighted: “For the time being, they have already organized three classes and brought them to the perfection that the present circumstances demand… At the same time, and more than everything else, these classes aim at molding the hearts of young girls in piety and religion, and directing their intelligence aright. In spite of the scarcity of premises, they have succeeded in assembling, at evenings, a large group of adults who, after finishing their ordinary work, come with pleasure to be instructed in the sound maxims of religion and to acquire useful knowledge… This, in short, is the essence of this Association, from which religion and society can expect much good”[246].

246 Boletín del Arzobispado de Sevilla, abril de 1885, p. 295.

Angeles Gonzalez also feels drawn to this way of life in her daily contact with the aspirants of religious life. She feels the call of God, but does not know exactly where to respond. Her confessor, Father Oliva from the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Seville, referred her to a congregation in that city. She finally made up her mind and asked to be admitted to the Association as a postulant. On June 5, 1885, the feast of the Sacred Heart, she began her steps in this life of devotion to God through the educational ministry for female children.

Five young women began their novitiate on August 2nd: Angeles González León, Angeles González Lozano, Ceferina Herrero, Antonia García and Matilde Sánchez.

D. Francisco Rubio y Contreras, the city’s archpriest, imposed the habit on them. “The parish priests and other priests of the town, the mayor and the councilors were invited”[247]. With this event, the Association began its consolidation on a religious level.

247 MMA, p. 9.

The “little school of Friends” became a religious-pedagogical institution in the service of holistic education. An institution that was “born in simplicity and educates with hope”.

Father Faustino asks the Minister of Public Works, Mr. Alejandro Pidal, for official approval as an educational center. He explains that this Association is “dedicated, “among other charitable and benevolent purposes, to the pious basic and higher education of girls and adults, outsiders, schoolgirls and asylum seekers”[248]. The educational center was approved on October 23, 1885, and on November 20 of the same year it was registered as the “Colegio libre de primera enseñanza de la Congregación de Hijas de la Divina Pastora establecida en Sanlúcar de Barrameda” (Free School of Primary Education of the Congregation of Dughters of the Divine Shepherdess, established in Sanlúcar de Barrameda) in the register of the Literary University of Seville[249].

248 Luque Ortega, Inmaculada: o.c., pp. 433-435.

249 PSV, p. 271.

Father Faustino continued to recognize new educational needs in the population of Sanlúcar and its surroundings. And he used the means at his disposal to respond to these needs. He considered it important to offer the possibility of a boarding school for girls who lived outside Sanlúcar. To this end, in 1887 they moved to Calle La Bolsa into a rented house, the cost of which was very high.

In the same year, the Association was given greater legal unity, as in September Father Faustino was confirmed by the Archbishopric of Seville as head of the Institution and was given the powers that had been provisionally granted to him in 1885.

For him, this meant confirmation of the measures he had carried out for the benefit of the nascent work and, at the same time, confirmation that it was God’s will that he should continue to be at the head of the work. Furthermore, he was authorized “to intervene and direct temporal and economic matters as well, which, because of their importance and their relationship to the spiritual good, are necessary for the preservation and promotion of the Institute, if the high goals that the Institute proposes are to be achieved”[250].

250 Ibid., p. 271.

The novices walk and move forward, supported and encouraged by Father Faustino, who guides them and gives them direction. He played the role of an authentic formator with them: “In the afternoon, at the end of class, Father Faustino came to us and, as we sat around him, explained what a religious should be and made us practice the beautiful virtues of humility and charity… He explained to us the religious spirit that was forming in the novitiates”[251].

251 MMA, p. 8.

But the Association encountered its first difficulties. Only three years after its beginnings, in 1888, Father Faustino was sent to Getafe. At first, he did not inform the novices of his transfer. He was only concerned about one thing: accommodating them in a house that belonged to the Association. And in July of the same year, the opportunity arose when Mr. Juan de Argüeso gave them a house in Calle Gonzalez Hontoria in gratitude for the fact that Father Faustino had cured him of an illness.

The move to the new premises was urgent; some renovation work was carried out[252] and soon “the move began and in fifteen days we were there… We were told quite secretly that the Father was leaving, and that was why we were in such a hurry to move to a house where we would not be disturbed”[253].

252 Ep. n.230.

253 MMA, p. 14.

Faced with the darkness that his transfer to Getafe meant for everyone, there was only one light for Father Faustino: the certainty that if it was God’s work, he would provide everything necessary to continue it.

First steps

The Association continued to take its first steps, but now without the close presence of the founder. In the letters he wrote to the novices, he encouraged them to face the difficulties that the beginning of any work entails.

From that moment on, Father Faustino continues to fulfill the task of formation with them through his letters, in which he lets the love he feels for them shine through:

“I carry you in the depths of my heart and with every movement you make outside the path that leads to God, I feel a discomfort that I will not stop until I see you back on the good path”[254].

254 Ep. n.15.

Pedagogical activity

The educational work of the Association became more and more consolidated. In 1889, the school already had 310 students. Of these, 236 received a completely free education and 74 paid school fees[255].

255 Pigretti, Mª Celia: Abrieron el surco sigamos sus huellas, Madrid 1984, p. 81.

The program of subjects was divided into six groups. It aimed to “prepare pupils for all the circumstances of their lives”[256]. The last group corresponded to the ornamental subjects: solfège, piano, drawing, French, English[257].

256 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 203, n.III.

257 Pigretti, Celia: o.c., p. 81.

In addition, another educational program was set up in the new house in Calle González Hontoria: Evening classes[258] for young women working as domestic servants and Sunday classes, which were very well received by the population of Sanlúcar.

258 MMA, p. 8.

In November and December of the same year, HRH the Infanta Mª Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier, visited the school accompanied by the widowed Marquise de la Corte, “attracted by the good idea she had formed of the Christian and scientific teaching that this school propagates”[259].

259 Pigretti, Celia: o.c., p. 82.

In the examinations, as in many other respects, the Calasanzian pedagogical line was followed. Father Faustino, as a Piarist, had had the experience of holding public events in which the children showed their academic progress and “learned to present themselves in public with the necessary decorum and naturalness”[260].

260 Caballero, Valentín: Aportaciones pedagógicas de las Escuelas Pías, Madrid 1950, p. 255.

In the new center, too, the students’ examinations are “public and are conducted by the ecclesiastical and civil authorities and in the presence of distinguished and educated personalities. The gentlemen are part of the Court of Honor and the ladies of the Examination Board[261]. The event in December 1889 was presided over by the Infanta, probably the Infanta Isabel[262]. On this occasion, Father Faustino was unable to travel to Sanlúcar[263].

261 Luque Ortega, Inmaculada: o.c., p. 347.

262 PSV, p. 445.

263 Ep. 114.

They took place at the end of each semester, on June 15 and December 15. During them, each student randomly takes three lessons from the subject’s program before the court of honor. After answering these, she had to answer questions from the court or even from the audience[264].

264 Reglamento del Colegio de la Divina Pastora de Sanlúcar de Barrameda. MMA, p. 16.

The best proof of the school’s fame and educational prestige is the considerable increase in student numbers. In 1889, Angeles Gonzalez asked the City Council to rent some of Benito Celis’ warehouses in Calle San Nicolas, in the lower part of the city of the wealthiest social class, to set up a classroom there, to which the City Council agreed. A completely free classroom is opened.

The examinations of the first semester of 1890 were conducted by Father Faustino[265]. At the end of the exams and in view of the good results obtained by the students, he thanked the ecclesiastical authorities present, especially the archpriest, for the support they gave to the Institution. He also thanked the City Council for its commitment in financing the branch, where, as he said, “more than 300 students receive education”[266].

265 Ep. n.164, 167.

266 Ep. n.201.

That same year, it became necessary to apply for new premises to set up another teaching center. This time it was located in the Barrio Alto, on San Agustín Street. Thus, in 1890, barely four years after its beginnings, the Divine Shepherdess School had a center in González Hontoria Street and two branches, one in each neighborhood of the city.

The pedagogical material with which the new center was equipped was plentiful. Furniture, benches, maps and books were purchased[267]. Father Faustino used the small income from the specifics he had at that time to buy them. The regulations of the school stated the following: “The teaching material is the richest and most select known for institutions of this type both in Spain and abroad. This only shows that this school imparts useful knowledge to all and that it has spared nothing to make it comprehensible to the tender intelligences”[268].

267 Ep. n.99.

268 Reglamento del Colegio de la Divina Pastora de Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Ep. n.93, 99,110 y 257.

An article published in December 1889 in the newspaper “El Movimiento Católico” rightly speaks of the fame that the new educational institution has achieved “in those noble and arduous tasks of Christian education”, “without which women would be deprived of their best charms, namely beauty of soul and sanctity of morals”[269].

269 Pigretti, Mª Celia: o.c., p. 81.

To help teachers and make it easier for students to learn the subjects they were studying, he wrote several books. Among them: “Nociones de Historia Natural”, “Nociones de Física Terrestre”, and “Diálogo sobre las láminas de Historia Natural”.(Elements of Biology, Elements of Physics, Dialogue about the charts of Biology).

The rules of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess

The first step that Father Faustino considers necessary to consolidate the Association from a religious point of view is to summarize in writing the instructions and advice that he gave orally to the young novices. And he let Ángeles González León know this as early as June 1885, when she took over the direction of the Institution:

“You must send me a letter signed by all of you, dated the first of January last, in which you ask me to do you the favor of putting in writing the advice and rules that I give you orally, so that you do not forget them and have them at hand to remember at every step, so that you can follow them better”[270].

270 Ep. n.15.

From Getafe, he took on the task of writing the rules. She always asked the novices for their opinion and asked them to add, change or delete something[271]. It is a gesture that expresses his modesty and the recognition, appreciation and respect he had for these women, who were still very young in religious life.

271 Ep. n.28, 47, 48, 53, 65.

On June 1, 1889, she submitted it to the Archbishopric of Seville for approval, accompanied by an official letter requesting that the Association, which was already five years old, be considered a Congregation.

The Archbishopric’s response to the ordinances noted that four “incidental changes” were to be made and that “the maxims, counsels and precepts contained in the ordinances seem to be dictated by a rare sagacity and consummate experience, revealing in their author an accurate knowledge of the human heart, of the evils that afflict our society, and of the remedies that the sad condition of the present time requires”[272].

272 Copy of the report in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

The changes were that: “Night prayer should be held before or after sewing and study; some words of the first article of the General Principles should be altered; there should be retreats only once a year; at the girls’ Spiritual Exercises, instead of talks, the Principal, in the absence of the Director, should give the points of the following meditation”[273].

273 Ep. n.90.

This last point is worth mentioning. Faustino, with his deep and open view of the whole human reality, discovers, appreciates and recognizes the possibilities of women in a society where they do not count and where it is assumed that they have nothing to say. When he wrote the regulations, he proposed that the sisters could give and lead the spiritual exercises for the girls. However, this is one of the points that the Archbishopric of Seville instructed him to change.

Once the corrections had been made, the regulations were approved on June 12, 1889. God blessed this work, which would henceforth be called Congregation.

For its elaboration, he drew, as he himself said, on the Sacred Scripture and the spirituality of several saints and Church Fathers, in which he tried to rummage “like a busy bee”[274]. In them, he records and collects above all the great main lines of spirituality that he lives as a Piarist, that of Joseph Calasanz.

274 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 53.

In the introduction, she presents the “model of every daughter of the Divine Shepherdess”, inspired by the Treatise on the Virgins of St. Ambrose.

Vocation promotion

The Congregation has already approved its regulations. This is a recognition on the part of the diocesan church, which gives the Congregation solidity. It is an incentive for the work which, from this moment on, begins a period of intense vocation promotion.

Father Faustino wrote several letters publicizing the Institution and inviting young women to get in touch with it. They were sent to the archpriests, the penitentiaries of the cathedrals, the superiors of the missionary and religious schools, “because they are the ones who hear the most confessions and have the most opportunities to encourage them”[275]. Faustino sends ten of these letters to France[276]. He sent one of them in French, in his own handwriting, to Father Timon David, the founder of the Congregation of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, which was dedicated to the care of young workers[277].

275 Ep. n.114.

276 Ep. n.125 y 126.

277 Diccionario Enciclopédico Escolapio (DENES), vol. I, pp.75-76.

As a result of this propaganda, there was a strong vocation movement. New young women joined the congregation with the desire to consecrate their lives to God in the emerging work. In 1890, the increase in the number of aspirants[278] made it necessary to rent the upper part of an adjoining house, which was made available for the novices and postulants.

278 Ep. n.184 y 226.

Some of these young women were acquaintances of Father Faustino, as they went to confession with him[279], as in the case of Concepción Hidalgo, who took the habit on March 25, 1886, and Ana Domínguez, who was initially opposed by her mother and therefore could not enter until June 1888. In April 1889, the novices had the pleasure of welcoming Francisca Pérez Morgado, the school’s first student who wanted to become a sister, into the novitiate. The Founder mentions her in a letter and nods approvingly to a proposal made to him,

279 MMA, p. 16.

“I agree that she should of course be called Shepherdess, since she is the first of his daughters to become one, but she should take care to honor the name which will honor her so much”[280].

280 Ep. n.76

First Temporary Profession

1889 was a year of blessings for the nascent Congregation since it was also the year of the first religious profession. This was to be celebrated five years after the beginning of the novitiate, that is, in 1890. But the joy at the approval of the Regulations led them to request that it could take place this year. The Archbishop of Seville responded affirmatively and delegated Fr. Faustino to receive their profession.

Therefore, on August 2nd, Angeles González León, Concepción Hidalgo, Antonia García and Ceferina Herrero made their Temporary Vows.

The formula of profession is, in general lines, the same that Joseph Calasanz proposed to the Pious Schools: “I… make my profession of Permanence and Simple Vows in the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess and promise to Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to my Most Holy Mother, the Divine Shepherdess”.

They make a vow of permanence by which they “bind themselves never to leave the Congregation through their own fault or will”[281]. They consecrate themselves to the Three Divine Persons and to Mary, Divine Shepherdess. They also renounced their goods in favor of the Congregation.

281 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 165, n.II.

The joy was great because of the event itself and because, for the first time after their transfer, they had the presence of Father Faustino who traveled from Getafe to receive the profession. It was celebrated in the Church of Regina Caeli. The homily was in charge of Fr. Francisco Jiménez Campaña, Piarist.

The Father Founder had the great joy of enjoying the presence of his Piarist brothers in this event so significant for the young Congregation. Fathers Alejandro Corrales, rector, and Eduardo Camallonga were present[282].

282 MMA, p. 17.

In the following years new professions were celebrated. In a document sent to the Archbishopric of Seville by Mother Ángeles González in 1892, it appears that the Congregation already had six professed sisters, five novices and two postulants.

First Perpetual Profession

After the Rules of 1897 were approved and ten years after the first Temporary Profession, the Perpetual Profession took place in the Chapel of the school, on Gonzalez Hontoria Street. The professed sisters are: Ángeles González León, Antonia García and Concepción Hidalgo.

Mother Ángeles tells us in her memoirs that, during the dessert of the meal with which they celebrated this happy event, the appointments of Superior, Vicar and Secretary, which they already had since October 15, 1894, were confirmed, while they were still professed with temporary vows[283].

283 Ibid., p. 21.

The Congregation had its own government, made up of Perpetual Vows religious: M. Ángeles González was the Superior; M. Concepción Hidalgo, the Vicar; and M. Antonia, the secretary. The Institution is being cemented and strengthened.

Definitive steps

The first canonical elections took place in 1900[284]. The above-mentioned religious were confirmed in their offices. A third moderator was also appointed: Mother Corazón del Pozo.

284 PSV, p. 254.

The number of religious, formandi and students in the congregation continued to grow. This made it necessary to move to a larger house in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, which would enable a better educational service. On February 24, 1902, the congregation acquired the Picacho farm, which Father Faustino had bought with the proceeds from the sale of medicines. The community was already living in this house in 1903, and the following year the new pavilion for the classrooms was inaugurated.

The years passed and new and definitive steps were taken to consolidate the Congregation. Father Faustino asked Father José Calasanz Homs, a Piarist, for advice on the necessary requirements to obtain the final authorization of the Institute. After these steps had been taken, Pope Pius X issued the Decretum Laudis on July 6, 1910.

The report drawn up by the General Administration on this occasion stated that the Congregation already had 29 professed teachers, 12 lay professed, several novices and postulants, 360 half-board students, 480 free students, 170 kindergarten pupils and 60 women in the evening school in Chipiona[285]. It is a fact that in the Congregation’s educational mission, preference is given to the neediest girls.

285 Ibid., p. 256.

Finally, the moment longed for by the sisters and especially by the Founder came: the final approval of the Constitutions by Pope Pius XI on July 27, 1922.

For Father Faustino, it was an experience of joy and a confirmation of what he had felt on many occasions as his only confidence: that God does not disappoint those who only want to fulfill his will:

“God knows how many times the difficulties, annoyances, persecutions and other things of this kind have brought me to the brink of the abyss; I cannot remember them, nor do I want to remember them. Several times I was so desperate that, despite knowing otherwise, I doubted whether I was fulfilling God’s will by continuing to guide you… but now, praise be to God, I know that it was not a mistake to continue what I had begun when the Lord had just approved it as good and useful for the Holy Church”[286].

286 TE, p. 15.

Charism and Spirituality of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess

The charismatic identity of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess has its origin in the inspiration granted by the Spirit to Faustino Miguez. His response to the concrete need he discovered in female childhood and adolescence takes shape in a service of love, in a new evangelical project: the Association of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess. The seed from which it is born is a simple School of Friends, impregnated with Calasanzian spirituality by Faustino Miguez, who receives the gift of foundation.

The aim of the Congregation is:

“To seek souls and lead them to God by all means accessible to charity; therefore,

Animated by an apostolic spirit and with boundless self-denial, they will come to the aid of souls who need it, and obedience will point them to it, even at the risk of their own lives, with no other weapon than charity and no other motive than the glory of God and the salvation of themselves and others”[287].

287 Faustino Míguez: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 45, n.I.

The new Institution has a pastoral dimension: education, according to the Calasanzian motto “Piety and Letters”.

“To prevent the innocence of the heart from being lost in the darkness of ignorance, they will devote themselves to the instruction of infants, young girls and adults, externs, school girls or asylum seekers, whatever their class or station, at such times and in such places as are most convenient.”

“Nor will they refuse any instruction or mission entrusted to them in conformity with their purpose by persons or bodies willing to sponsor it, nor anything that may contribute directly or indirectly to the exercise of charity and to the greater temporal and eternal good of their neighbor, and they will try to carry it out as circumstances permit”[288].

288 Ibid., p. 45, n.II.

Faustino received as an integral part of his founding charism the gift of shaping and defining the new evangelical ministry, his identity. The Calasanzian spirituality from which he lived his Piarist vocation shaped the spiritual lines of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess.

The awareness of this connection with Calasanzian spirituality prompted the Superior General, Mother Natividad Vázquez, to ask the Holy See to include the word “Calasanzian” in the name of the Congregation on the occasion of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation. It was subsequently renamed: Pio Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora, (Pious Calasanzian Institute Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess).

Due to the apostolic spiritual identity that characterizes the Congregation, we can say that the Daughter of the Divine Shepherdess:

- remains in constant “search” for the “others”,” especially the “needy”,” to guide them and “accompany them “on their way” to God,

- lives at the service of her brothers and sisters with “apostolic zeal”,” which she expresses in her passion for the Kingdom of God, and wants to go out of herself to live for the one she loves “with boundless self-denial”,

- she follows Christ, in whom she has her only role model and whom she sees as the one who:

- “being the Son of God, he is annihilated and takes on the form of a servant out of love”[289].
289 Ibid., p. 206, n.XIII.

For her, the Incarnation becomes a path of humility, simplicity and closeness to people, especially children and young people. The Heart of Jesus, the expression of Christ’s humanity, is a school of love and humanism.

- he came to “teach us “the way” to God[290].
290 Del Álamo, Anselmo: Habla el P. Fundador (HPF), Madrid 1984, p. 160.

Christ “way”[291], “teacher”[292], who welcomes, blesses and caresses children, is for them the model of an educator[293].

- “she has as her only nourishment to do the will of the Father”[294].
294 Ibid., p. 58, n.XII.

To contemplate Jesus Christ, who is obedient to the will of the Father, is an invitation to “serve God alone, like the handmaid to her mistress”[295], “to “have no other will than his”[296]; it is an invitation to trust and surrender in order to let God work, who knows what is right.

- “like the Good Shepherd”[297] “she spends her life doing good and, in the end, giving it up for her enemies”[298].
297 Míguez, Faustino: Junio o mes del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, Madrid 1904, pp. 40 y 44.

298 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 48, n.VIII.

She feels called to lay down her life, like Christ, the “Good Shepherd”, who lays it down even to the cross. Out of love, she takes up the cross every day, which is part of self-giving.

- She has “no other motive than the glory of God” and acts “on the wings of charity”[299], “with no other weapon than charity”. Love of God makes her available to those in need, whom she loves and for whom she lays down her life. As a Calasanzian sister, she knows that she is of the “others” and for the “others”.
299 Ibid., p. 11, n.I.

291 Ep. n.27.

292 Ep. n.141.

293 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 206, n.XIX.

295 HPF, p. 180.

296 Ep. n.349.

Mary is the model for every daughter of the Divine Shepherdess. She was “the handmaid of the Lord” and mother and shepherdess for the people. “So was the Mother, so must her daughters strive to be”[300].

300 Ibid., pp. 52 y 64, n.I.

This spirituality permeates and shapes the personal lifestyle of the Daughter of the Divine Shepherdess, her life in the community and her service in education.

Educational ideal and style

The sublime mission of education, “as great as it is difficult”,” is the humble service of the Congregation in building up the Kingdom of God.

From her spiritual-apostolic identity, the Daughter of the Divine Shepherdess is at the service of truth. In her educational ministry, she gives herself with love to lead the “little ones” and the simple to God,

She “works for them with boundless love until she wins them for Jesus Christ… The way, the truth and the life”[301].

301 Ibid., p. 206, n.XIV ; Ep. 27.

In this way, she is configured as a person who is constantly searching, going to her brothers and sisters “in need”, whom she welcomes and whom she feels she “accompanies” on the path of human-Christian fulfillment.

From her identity as a shepherdess, she walks the path as both guide and companion. She feels that she is always on the way, on the way to God.

The Calasanzian Sister knows that there is a goal, a motto and some gestures for the educational path.

- The goal is to reach people in order to impregnate them with the values of the Gospel. It is about achieving human identity through the will of God.

The Calasanzian educator starts from the reality of the child, whom she sees as the bearer of gifts that are planted like seeds in the furrow of the human being. Through an education “daughter of love”[302], she does nothing other than to give growth, “to give life, movement and action to an existence that is still imperfect”.

302 HPF, p. 51.

How does she fulfill this task? By “awakening dormant abilities”, “cultivating the gifts of nature in every human being” and “elevating his abilities to their greatest possible power and perfection”.

Three key concepts define her entire pedagogical approach: to discover, to develop and to empower. In this way, “the child becomes a human being through education”[303].

303 Ibid., p. 50.

For human beings, education is a call to be; it is the possibility of being from the seed of fullness, of which he or she is the bearer because was created in the image of God.

From here, the Calasanzian religious understands education as the “noblest, greatest and most sublime work”[304], because it is the “continuous creation”[305], it is the collaboration in the creative work of God.

304 Ibid., p. 54.

305 Ibid., pp. 50 y 54.

For the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess, to educate means to “guide”, to accompany the “little ones” and the “simple ones” on the path of life, to “prevent the innocence of the heart from being lost in the darkness of ignorance”[306]. To prevent the trace of God in them from disappearing, to help them discover this trace.

306 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 45, n.II.

“Through the ineffable virtues of Our Lady, Jesus came to men and through her, men go to Jesus; they should try to let Jesus come into the hearts of girls through their own virtues and also lead them to Jesus through them”[307].

307 Ibid., p. 203, n.IV.

- On this educational path, in the service of human beings, the Calasanzian school has a motto: piety and letters.

It is the synthesis of the educational ideal of Joseph Calasanz, who understood education as a happy combination of piety and literacy. It is a way of expressing the holistic dimension of an educational project that aims to bring people and Christians together. It is about educating in the truth, the truth of God and the truth of human science.

This means that for the Calasanzian school there is no difference between the promotion of a human being and the promotion of a Christian. And it assumes,

“…to teach him or her to elevate himself or herself through the noble union of knowledge with virtue, letters with wisdom, science with faith”[308].

308 HPF, p. 51.

The Calasanzian educator is the one who, in educational practice, unites these two Calasanzian categories in the sense of equality, as expressed in the motto[309].

309 Estilo educativo del Instituto Calasancio de Hijas de la Divina Pastora a la luz de los documentos fundacionales. Madrid 1991, p. 19.

- On her educational path, the Calasanzian religious has gestures that identify her as such.

- She makes herself “small with the little ones”[310], which gives her an attitude of closeness and simplicity.
310 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 205, n.XIII.

Her humility provides her with the necessary space for God and tends to communicate with the humble and the little ones[311]. She has a preference for the weak.

311 Ibid., p. 191, n.III.

- She walks alongside the men and women of her time, without neglecting her mission, like a guardian angel[312], to provide them with the highest good.
312 TE, p. 18.

- Kindness is the gesture that enables her to enter into the lives of those to whom she is sent[313]. She knows, respects and values each individual. “The daughter of the Divine Shepherdess admires, loves and respects at the same time the dignity of the disciple whom the Lord entrusts to her”[314]. In her educational mission, she combines firmness with gentleness. “They will combine the strictness of the teacher with the love and gentleness of a mother”[315].
313 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 203, n.V.

314 TE, p. 18.

315 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 202, n.I.

- She looks at her students like a mother and a shepherdess. Her gaze on people is full of love and life, “to inspire confidence in them”[316]. “She looks at them, like a mother, with love”[317].
316 Ibid., p. 190, n.I.

317 Ibid., p. 206, n.XIII.

- She stimulates, encourages and strengthens them on their path. She knows that “taking care of the students and letting them learn by emulation brings better results”[318].
318 Ibid., p. 221, n.V.

- She spends her life in the service of the one with whom she goes, forgetting herself and renouncing her own interests for the good of the “needy “[319], “even at the risk of her own life”[320]. “Spouse of Jesus Christ who spent his life doing good and giving it”[321].
319 Ibid., p. 197, n.XIV y p. 12, n.III.

320 Ibid., p. 45, n.I.

321 Ibid., p. 48, n.VIII.

- Her best word is testimony. She shows “in all her behavior and in her words to whom she belongs”[322]. She educates more by what she is, by what she carries within her, than by what she knows. He teaches through her life what the child will become in time[323].
322 Ibid., p. 12, n.II.

323 Ibid., p. 204, n.VII.

- She searches for spaces of reflection and education. She “imposes on herself the solemn duty of providing the means for the sublimity of her mission”[324] and “she works and studies to know the most exquisite and advanced aspects of her profession”[325].
324 Ibid., p. 12, n.II.

325 Ibid., p. 8, n.7.

Expansion and consolidation

The Association of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess began its expansion in 1894, when it had been in existence for less than ten years and was led by the director D. Francisco Rubio y Contreras, after the resignation of Father Faustino, as we shall see later.

There is a common denominator in the first foundations: the preferential dedication in the educational mission to poor girls. The young religious who were responsible for promoting and consolidating the new branches were imbued with the spirit of the Founder. They wanted no girl to be deprived of education, especially not a poor girl.

The place chosen for the first departure from the confines of Sanlúcar de Barrameda was Chipiona, a town just 8 km away “that our founder had always liked”[326]. The reason they went there was “the lack of education that existed there.” “On October 12, 1892, the first step was taken to found in Chipiona”[327].

326 Crónicas de la Casa de Chipiona, p. 2.

327 Ibid., p. 2.

In this small town lived Mrs. Veneranda de la Vega, a Mexican woman whom they met through Father Miguel Berasaluce, a Franciscan friar from Our Lady of Regla convent. She “promised to support the foundation of a religious house in Chipiona, where young orphans and destitute girls in particular would be educated. She donated 5,000 pesetas”[328].

328 Petition on 27.01.1893. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio de Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

The sisters welcomed his proposal. After many negotiations and vicissitudes, an agreement was reached with Mrs. Veneranda and Mrs. Trinidad Trechuelo, who also supported the foundation financially. The Franciscan Fathers were always very close to the sisters and encouraged them in the difficulties of the beginnings.

The new school was founded with the aim of educating poor girls, in this case orphans, and therefore in a boarding school. Classes opened on April 19, 1894. Mother Ceferina Herrero was appointed headmistress of the school.

1898 was the year of a new foundation, that of Villamartín. It was carried out by Father Berasaluce, who now exercised his priestly ministry in this town. In February, he offered the town council that the Sisters of the Divine Shepherdess could open a school in the town.

In response to this offer, the city council granted a subsidy of 500 pesetas per year for the free education of poor girls.

The sisters had no house of their own and took up residence in the convent of the Conceptionist Mothers. There they taught girls from the city, a large number of whom were free of charge.

But they ran into problems with the city council because it did not pay the subsidies on time, and the community had nothing to support itself[329]. The house was closed in 1905.

329 Ep. n.273.

That same year, M. Ángeles González and M. Concepción Hidalgo traveled to Monóvar to arrange everything necessary for the next foundation, which was soon to take place in this city in Alicante. On April 15, 1906, the sisters set off for the new house. Their task was to educate poor girls. A Sunday school was also set up here, which in 1909 was attended by sixty young girls who were employed in domestic service[330].

330 Report to Rome, 1909. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio de Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

From here, Mother Natividad Vázquez sent a letter to the royal family asking for help for this new work, as they lacked the funds.

The following year, the town of Aspe received a new presence, that of a community of Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess. However, the nuns’ stay in this town was short-lived, lasting only until 1917, as they lacked the means to support themselves.

As for these last three foundations, Father Faustino did not agree with the conditions under which they were carried out,

“I also want you to spread out, but not to Villamartín, nor to Monóvar and Aspe, who do not even have their own house and barely earn enough to pay for it, and who are always worried in case they have to leave it… I want the sisters to work hard for the honor and glory of God… but I do not want them to lack what is necessary in everything and for everything”[331].

331 Ep. n.420.

He believed that the sisters should live from their work and that the new foundations should provide them with the necessary means for their maintenance. According to this criterion, which he often repeated, he used part of the income from the sale of medicines to buy materials for the courses, but never for the upkeep of the sisters[332]. As Mother Angeles put it: “We did not receive this money”[333].

332 PSV, p. 454.

333 MMA, p. 8.

When Father Faustino returned to lead the Congregation, between 1897 and 1898, the sisters wanted to settle as close to him as possible so that they would never be separated from him again. The experience of physical distance was difficult for all of them. They felt that this closeness was necessary to better internalize the spirit of the Congregation, for it was he who shaped them.

As early as 1898, Mother Angeles expressed to him the possibility of traveling to Getafe. Faustino replied:

“You will be careful not to come here if you do not want to atone your sin; you will see what is like a willage where there is not even an inn or hostelry, nor a house to rent”[334].

334 Ep. n.245.

They made the trip, but not until a few years later, in 1903, as recorded in the Chronicle of the House of Sanlúcar: “Our Reverend Mother traveled with Sister Julia on the first train to Getafe to see our beloved Founder and discuss the affairs of the house, which, as we shall see later, proved to be very beneficial for the Congregation”[335].

335 Crónicas de la casa de Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Libro 2, p. 1.

One of the results of this trip was the foundation of a house in Getafe. Undoubtedly a very favorable thing! The purpose of the house was to take care of the laboratory and to learn directly from Father Faustino how to prepare the specifics. The three sisters, already mentioned in connection with the Míguez laboratory and whom Father Faustino would refer to as the “shepherding trinity” arrived[336].

336 Ep. n.318.

Until 1912, the year in which the next foundation took place, the work begun in the Congregation had been strengthened. Two years earlier, Father Faustino received an unexpected visit from D. Tiburcio Ruiz de la Hermosa[337], the parish priest of the church of San Pedro de Daimiel. We have already mentioned that he had traveled to Getafe to visit Father Faustino because he was suffering from diabetes. As a result of the meetings that followed, D. Tiburcio asked him to found a school in the city, “given the neglect of education in that city”[338].

337 Summarium, p. 71.

338 Summarium, p. 103.

He wrote to Mother Julia and told her:

“Yesterday some priests from Daimiel were here to consult me, among them the parish priest of San Pedro, a worthy person. I wanted him to see the chapel and the ornaments of the Shepherdesses. He was delighted. He says that there is no school in this town… I would like to take you there. There is a magnificent house in the center of town”[339].

339 Ep. n.524.

Encouraged by Father Faustino, who did not want “the poor girls to be deprived of education”[340], she agreed to the foundation.

340 Summarium, p. 103.

Others followed: in 1915, Monforte de Lemos; in 1917, Beas de Segura and Martos; in 1922, Belálcazar.

As a result of the foundation of Monforte, Mother Julia Requena, Superior General, Mother Natividad and the Founder, accompanied by Father Elio Rodríguez, Piarist, traveled to this Galician city at the end of October 1915. They spent a few days with Father Faustino’s family. This was his last visit to the land of his birth[341].

341 PSV, p. 121.

There were other foundation attempts in Spain that did not lead to success. For example, those of: Alcazar de San Juan[342], Murcia, Cartagena, Cáceres, Cieza, Ayamonte, Alhaurín el Grande[343], La Carolina, Gualdacanal[344], and Arcos de la Frontera[345].

342 Ep. n.598.

343 Ep. n.420.

344 Crónicas de la Casa de Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Libro 2, p. 1.

345 PSV, p. 257.

The strong expansion movement testifies to the apostolic restlessness of these women. Out of their consecration to God and encouraged by Father Faustino, they put the scarce resources and possibilities they had at the service of the Kingdom of God through their educational ministry.

But Father Faustino has another hope. Deep within him is the experience of his time in Cuba. There he discovered something that he has not forgotten: the need for workers to continue the work begun by the first evangelizers. He longs for this work, which God has placed in his hands, to one day sail across the seas to distant lands.

There were two foundation attempts in Latin America that did not lead to success: one in Villacañás, Argentina[346] and the other in Camagüey, Cuba[347].

346 Ep. n.681 y 683.

347 Ep. n.672.

The occasion arrives with the proposal made by Father Adolfo Echarte, a Piarist, arrived in Spain from Santiago de Chile in December 1922. He brought with him a commission he had received from the Charitable Society of Spanish Ladies: to look for a community of Spanish sisters to take over the management of the Spanish Children’s Home in Santiago.

Father Faustino cherishes in his heart this possibility, which was suggested to him by one of his confreres. But he knows that it is not up to him to decide. He put Father Adolfo in touch with Mother Julia Requena, the Superior General, who agreed to the project.

The longed-for day arrived on August 6, 1923, and the sisters embarked in Cádiz for Chile. At their head, as superior, Mother Natividad Vázquez, to whom Father Faustino wrote before her departure:

“I rejoice that you are encouraged for the great undertaking to which God calls you, and only with his grace can you fulfill it through hard work”[348].

348 Ep. n.771.

Shortly after their arrival, the following year, a group of orphaned girls in need of educational help was a new calling for these women who had left home. This time it was in Argentina and also through the mediation of Father Echarte. They took over the management of the Charitable Society Asylum “Hermanas de los Desamparados” (Sisters of Destitutes).

Two foundations in Latin America. Undoubtedly, this is one of the joyful moments for Father Faustino, “his hopes were not disappointed”[349]. The Lord has fulfilled his wishes and once again blesses all his work in favor of this Congregation.

349 Crónicas de la Casa de Santiago de Chile, en Pedro de Valdivia.

It is the moment to proclaim a few months before his death: Now, Lord, you can let your servant go in peace according to your promise…

Difficulties

From the beginning, this little boat of the Association has encountered difficulties in its navigation; difficulties from which no human labor is exempt. Difficulties that seem to grow stronger and stronger. But it is a boat that knows it is sailing with the wind of God. That is why it was able to remain strong in the struggle, to overcome other storms and to continue on its course with its gaze and trust in Him.

The first difficulty arose at the beginning of the journey. In June 1885, Father Faustino asked the Archdiocese to tell him what his duties were at the head of the Association. When he received the answer, he was forced by events to remove Francisca, who did not want to continue, as president and to expel Catalina for she “believed that the Association was her family’s business”. Mother Angeles Gonzalez tells us: “It was noticed that there was a lack of supplies purchased and that at night relatives of one of them went carrying some packages, so they became suspicious and put something in place to find out the truth, which did not take long”[350].

350 MMA, p. 5.

After these events, Ángeles González León was appointed president of the Association.

Catalina and Francisca were the instruments chosen to begin this journey. The Lord used the simplicity of their “little school of friends” for a work that would bear great fruit for the Church of God. But the events that transpired proved that they were not the chosen ones to carry on the work and live His Spirit.

The ship took its course, but in 1888, when Father Faustino was transferred to Getafe, it had to sail on without the close and daily presence of Father Faustino. At the end of her life, Mother Ángeles González gives us an idea of what this fact meant to them: “You can imagine the impression we had, we all cried and he the same, we had no consolation, three years as novices, he formed us, nothing was done without asking him, we had no thought without consulting him, he was our father and he considered us very beloved daughters in Jesus… When the months of vacation were over, it was finally decided that Father Faustino would leave”[351].

351 Ibid., p. 14.

Father Faustino encouraged them and transmitted to them the only certainty he had at this time, when the cross was also very present for him: God would take care of them and of the still fragile little boat. “Among many other advices, of union, charity and love for one another and to work for the Institute that was being built, he told us that it would be good to be absent so that they could see that it was God’s work”[352].

352 Ibid., p. 15.

Since the distance was too great for them, the young novices insisted that he visit them so that they could share the ups and downs of the journey and listen to his advice. He traveled for the first time in August 1889, on the occasion of the Temporary Profession. He returned again in June 1890 to preside over the girls’ exams, as we have already seen[353].

353 Ep. n.162, 164, 167.

Travels which contributed in part to the appearance of one of the greatest trials the Congregation experienced.

In November 1890, he received a letter from Father Provincial Marcelino Ortiz. From the content of the letter, Father Faustino deduced that he did not agree with the function of Director that he was exercising in the Association.

He writes to Father General to express the accusations against him and to defend himself and the Congregation. After an exchange of letters, “as a man strong in obedience”, he accepts Father General’s admonitions:

“But if, in spite of everything, he admonishes me to desist from what I have begun, I will do so with great pleasure to please him”[354].

354 López, Salvador: Faustino Míguez Sch.P. Fundador de las Religiosas Calasancias, Salamanca 1988, p. 173.

It was a difficult time for Fr. Faustino when the cross was present for him. But in the midst of the darkness of the passing night, he is clear about the path he must take. When he clearly realized that it was not the will of the superiors for him to remain at the head of the Congregation, he presented his resignation as Director to the Archbishop of Seville in July 1891. He informed Mother Ángeles González of this:

“I can no longer give you permission to renew your vows or do anything else. Until the Archbishop determines otherwise, try to accept the powers that the decree grants you. I am nothing to you since the 9th of last month, when, as it was not the will of my superiors that I should continue at the head of the Association, I sent my resignation to the Archbishop through Father Provincial”[355].

355 Ep. n.241.

With this decision, Father Faustino once again shows himself to be a man who loves his Piarist vocation, with which he identifies and for which he chooses once again in this hour of trial and pain.

He is certain that the boat will continue on its course, because it is God who steers it. He is only an instrument. And a weak, fragile and unnecessary instrument at that:

“I believe that the archbishop will appoint the vicar or Fr. Oliva and, in any case, you will win one hundred percent if he accepts one of the two[356].

356 Ep. n.242.

It was also a difficult time of trial for the sisters. Many questions arose in them, many questions… Doubts that Mother Angeles expresses to him because of the trust she places in him. And Father Faustino, heartbroken but trusting only in God, answers her with a few words that show his inner attitude:

“I understand what you are trying to tell me. I will not let you down. It has cost me a lot to forget you. But you have to be like the reed when the hurricane passes”[357].

357 Ep. n.242.

He turns away, just as the reed bends, without asking for anything, without demanding anything. He considers himself without rights in this work which the Lord has placed in his hands and which he has led for almost seven years:

“It would give me great satisfaction if you would all burn every single letter of mine that you have there, and it is not official. I meant to order it to you before I resigned, but I forgot. Now only your ex-director begs it, who commends himself to your prayers, pleads your pardon for all his faults and scandals he may have inflicted on you”[358].

358 Ep. n.241.

He only dares to ask them for something that is born of a deep affection, namely that they not show displeasure towards the person appointed by the Archbishop, D. Francisco Rubio y Contreras, Archpriest of Sanlúcar de Barrameda[359].

359 Ep. n.242.

Physical distance is now joined by distance in orientation, direction and pursuit… An immeasurable isolation for the young professed sisters and also for the Founder.

During this time, as we have seen, the Institute began to expand. There is no trace of any relationship or contact between Father Faustino and the Institute during this time. With one exception: we know that he traveled to Sanlúcar de Barrameda to receive the profession of Sister Teresa of Jesus. The profession was celebrated on August 25, 1893. It is easy to imagine the joy that both he and the sisters felt at this reunion!

At the end of 1897, Father Faustino resumed correspondence with Mother Ángeles González and the Congregation. He resumed his duties as Director. What is the reason for his return?

The young institution has two communities, one in Sanlúcar and the other in Chipiona. The one lives under the direction of the Franciscan Fathers and the one in Sanlúcar under that of D. Francisco Rubio y Contreras and Father Oliva, the confessor of M. Ángeles. A fact that leads to a certain independence and separation between the two houses.

The Cardinal of Seville, Msgr. Marcelo Spinola, is aware of the serious situation in which the Congregation finds itself due to the different influences to which it is exposed. He considers it necessary that the Founder, who received the inspiration and embodied the spirit of the Congregation, should once again be at the head of the Institution.

For Father Faustino, a new proposal and “obedience”. Like a docile instrument in the hands of God, he once again quietly took charge of the weak little boat.

A time of prosperity and tranquility began. There was a perpetual profession, some foundations were made, new vocations were added… But the test, the cross, was again present in her life and that of the Congregation.

In 1907, Mother Angeles became Superior General. She was re-elected in the last canonical elections the year before. She is the person who has deeply penetrated the spirituality of the Institute through her frequent and constant relationship with Father Faustino. For him, she is a security, a peace of mind. She is someone he trusts completely and who allows him to see the horizon of the Congregation with complete peace of mind…

In Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the construction of the classroom pavilion in the Picacho house was underway. Father Faustino sent them large sums of money from the sale of medicines to pay for the work.

“I enclose a check from the Bank of Spain in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Florido Hermanos for thirty thousand pesetas, which will soon make up the two new budgets for this (Chipiona) and Sanlúcar”[360].

360 Ep. n.284.

Faustino speaks of M. Angeles on more than one occasion, affectionately and casually calling her “bad payer” because she always asks him and is always in debt.

“If you want to get rid of the bad payer label that way, it’s too late; that’s your real name”[361].

361 Ep. n.226.

However, in 1907, someone must have brought Father Faustino attention on the dramatic economic situation in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. With the radicalism and straightforwardness that characterized him, he felt compelled to remove the person he considered the most trustworthy person in the Congregation from the office of Superior General.

The reasons, it seems, were the “bad management” of the money and the fact that he had not informed the Founder of the economic situation[362]. Full of sorrow, he wrote to M. Concepcion, the second moderator:

362 PSV, p. 304.

“For great evils there are radical remedies. Sister Julia will send you Sister Angeles’ certificate of dismissal… Enough of the soft blankets and human consideration. Either the Congregation will be as it should be, or it will not be at all”[363].

363 Ep. n.339.

This circumstance caused Father Faustino infinite suffering. It is the test of faith that is once again present. He faced it and overcame it, as always, with great trust in God, who “will not abandon us”:

“You tell me not to suffer… What, should I despair? I have already despaired of myself and have great confidence in God… Everything will pass”[364].

364 Ep n.349 y 395.

Mother Angeles was deprived of the active and passive voice for a time. She was a woman who knew how to adapt to this difficult situation in her life, and from then on she remained in the Congregation until the end of her days. This deprivation was lifted at the General Chapter of 1931. She was much loved in the Congregation, to which she knew how to give the best of herself even in the midst of her fragility.

M. Julia Requena, the first Moderator, took over the office of Superior General. She gave a strong impulse to the institute, which opened several houses during this time. Her nature was characterised by kindness and gentleness. Father Faustino said of her that she was like the “echo of his heart”. She identified deeply with the spirit of the Founder. She had the joy of witnessing such important events as the final approval of the Constitutions and Rules during her Generalate.

However, the good fortune of the sea through which the boat sails is coming to an end, at least for a while. Mother Julia Requena became seriously ill and died on October 28, 1923, creating a strange situation that is difficult to explain in human terms and has a complicated framework.

In the last period of the Founder’s life, the Congregation entered a serious crisis, which was triggered by the appointment of the person who was to take over the duties of the Superior General. Sisters suffer a new separation from Father Faustino, who was forbidden any contact with them for six or seven months.

As always, he suffers silently for himself and his beloved institute on the night of the trial. The light came with the celebration of a Chapter in which Mother Natividad Vázquez, who had been in Santiago de Chile, was appointed Superior General.

A new stage began for the Congregation…, that boat that Fr. Faustino had led since 1925; now from the bosom of the Father…

A life on the way to God

Faustino Míguez felt called to be “all of God”, “only of God” and “always of God”[365]. The way was Jesus Christ. And “following in his footsteps” he became a true “disciple of the divine Master”[366].

365 Pláticas Espirituales del P. Faustino Míguez (PE), Madrid 1984, p. 13.

366 Decreto Virtudes Heroicas (DVH).

His life revolves around some spiritual lines that configure him as the one whom the love of God transformed into a docile and simple instrument in his hands at the service of the “little ones” and the “needy”.

He accepts God’s love as a gift “love and only divine love”

“He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’” (Mt. 22:37)[367].

367 PE, p. 57.

The home was for Father Faustino the school that laid the foundations of love in his life. There he felt accepted, loved and, above all, learned to love. He lived in the bosom of a family that received and welcomed God’s love, and never let go of it.

Through his relatives and the neighbors of the village of Ourense we have been able to know how Faustino grew up in a family environment impregnated with a deep faith in God. This is also recorded in the will made by his parents in 1858, shortly before Benito’s death: “In the name of Almighty God, Amen: we Benito Míguez and María González, believing as we firmly believe in the mysteries of the Most Holy Trinity, God Triune in person and One in essence, and in everything else that our Holy Mother Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church believes, confesses and teaches us, under the context of which we have always lived and protest to do so as faithful Christians, make and grant our last will and testament in the following manner”[368].

368 Archivo General Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

Together with his parents, he began to speak with God, to address Him as Someone who loves and cares for him. They taught him that God loves us infinitely more than we love Him[369]. Faustino grew up in this environment and, almost without realizing it, the desire to serve the Lord to correspond to this love arose within him[370].

369 Pigretti, Mª Celia: Cartas del Siervo de Dios Faustino (Ep.), Madrid 1985, n.501.

370 Ep. n.5.

When he began a new journey, in response to his Piarist vocation, he carried within the germ of what would be one of his great convictions: that nothing is as necessary as the love of God to be happy and, therefore, only one thing must be learned, to love[371]:

371 Ep. n.627.

“Is there anything more just, more beautiful, more useful, more necessary and sweeter than the love of God?”[372].

372 Ep. n.140; PE, p. 57.

As a follower of Christ, in the school of Calasanz, he did not forget the words of his Founder when he said that “one goes to paradise only by love”[373]. Faustino wanted love to be the “spring and motor” of all his actions, thoughts and words, because “Love and only divine Love” is what makes us “prosper in everything”[374]. He aspired to this goal, although because of his fragility and weakness he did not always succeed in reaching it, especially at the beginning of his spiritual itinerary[375]. Those who knew him underline this dimension: “He had a very great love for God our Lord and he manifested it in his life, in his conversations, and at all times and in such a way that he communicated this love to those who spoke with him”[376].

373 Selected letters of St. Joseph Calasanz, n.395.

374 Ep. n.124.

375 Ep. n.495.

376 Summarium Proc.ord. Matriten (Summarium), p. 188.

Through his writings we discover the profound experience he had of the love of God, of whom he felt himself to be a true son[377]. It is He who loved him first. We can say that he lives as an invasion of divine tenderness in his being. In response, he desires to love him above all things[378] and to let him take possession of his life.

377 Del Álamo, Anselmo: “Habla el Padre Fundador” (HPF), Madrid 1984, p. 86.

378 DVH.

“Iinfinite power of the infinite love of God for man whom he created in his image and likeness and the powerful motive for the boundless love of the creature for his Creator! Could God have loved us with a more ardent, more tender, more generous, stronger and more constant love? I love you very much in God, but only for God and not a millionth part more infinitely than for God”[379].

379 Ep. n.15, 149 y 739.

Little by little Faustino opened himself more and more to this divine Love and discovered the primacy of God. When he affirms, with all his energies, that He is love, he is revealing himself to us as a profound connoisseur of the fragile human condition and of man’s need for God in order to become in fullness:

“God is eternal and loves us from and to eternity and makes us happy now and forever. He never dies, nor slackens in his love for us. He is always kind, always loving; he never forgets his love, nor does he grow weary of us”[380].

380 Ep. n.107.

He vitally discovers the divine goodness in the experience of his radical fragility. The certainty of God’s closeness[381] in her life and of his merciful love is the secret of her trust and hope,

381 Ep. nº. 70 y 139.

“I have failed outwardly, but not inwardly, for I have never had such a thought, for the mercy of God”[382].

382 López, Salvador: Faustino Míguez Sch.P. Fundador de las Religiosas Calasancias (FMS), Salamanca 1988, p. 303.

It is in the contemplation of Jesus in the Sacrament, the Heart of Christ and his Passion that Faustino grasps the depth of this love of God, and opens himself to it. Nothing he considers more suitable than the cross to make the love of God to spring up in us[383]. In the Heart of Jesus, who “is all love”[384] is the school in which he learns every day the most sublime perfection. This is how he expresses it in the book he wrote on the month of the Sacred Heart. His love for the Eucharist is also a trait highlighted by those who lived with him: “He had great love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and he began his conversations with a fervent prayer to the Blessed Sacrament and he instilled in us the frequent and daily visit to the Lord in the Sacrament, and that our refuge should always be the Tabernacle”[385].

383 Ep. n.146.

384 Míguez, Faustino: Junio o mes del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (MSC), Madrid 1904, p. 11.

385 Summarium, p. 188.

In this regard, Fr. Tiburcio, parish priest of Daimiel, of whom we have already said that he was a good friend of Father Faustino, tells us an anecdote that happened while he was with him: “He also loved Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament very much, which I noticed the first time I met him, because when we were both at the school of Sisters in Getafe where we had gone for a walk from the school of the Piarists, he interrupted the conversation to tell me: But Father, we are here and we have not yet gone to visit the Master. And immediately he got up and we went to the Chapel”[386].

386 Ibid., p. 92.

From his vision impregnated with the gift of Love, he is capable of recognizing the divine traces in all that surrounds him. In everything that exists and lives he finds a reference to the Giver. Thus, for example, nature is for him a sign of God’s love for man. Such is the intensity with which he lives this aspect that his students remember how he spoke to them about nature and presented it to them as one of the great gifts that He gave us. “In his classes he took advantage of the consideration of the wonders of nature to relate them to Divine love”[387].

387 Summarium, p.10-11.

As he walked along, he experienced that God’s love for him gave him life, made him happy[388], called him to be every day, and that is why he wished to live in his love eternally. As a Piarist, all his apostolic and educational work is driven by this Love. His gaze is fixed on God to know his Will and to follow it, with no other motive than his love and with no other end than to please him[389], because love is repaid with love[390]. He knows that he serves a Lord who does not reward the brilliance of the works but the purpose and love with which they are done.

388 Ep. n.67.

389 Testamento Espiritual de nuestro Padre Fundador y otros contenidos (TE), Madrid 1979, p. 17.

390 HPF, p. 86.

“It is not who can and does the most, who deserves the most, but who loves the most and does what he can”[391].

391 TE, p. 19.

The Love of God guided him to devote himself to children and young people. He feels consecrated to the service of his brothers and sisters, the people. In his spiritual experience, he lives the love of God and the love of neighbor as inseparable; they are one and the same thing, a single reality. As a Piarist, he loves the Lord through his dedication to children and young people, and lives devoted to them out of love.

“The true love is represented in the flight of the seraphim. Two wings? Divine and neighborly love. This love is a banner with two mottos: for God and for the neighbor”[392].

392 PE, p. 58.

In his educational work, he showed great kindness and affection in his dealings with his students. He did this because of the value that the child contains in himself and because he, as an educator, knew that he was the channel through which the love of God reached the disciple[393]. He had a special inclination towards God’s favorites, the poor and needy, in whom he discovered him: “He also had a special predilection for poor girls, so much so that one of the times when he was with me in Daimiel, he told me: Father, see to it that there are always classes for poor girls, because where they go through, God goes through them”[394].

393 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p.206, n.XV.

394 Summarium, p. 93.

This is an element that we can consider as central to his Calasanzian spirituality, since Joseph Calasanz said that “he who does not have the spirit to teach the poor, does not have the vocation of our Institute”[395]. “When he gave his classes, he paid attention to the less advantaged students and gave them special classes so that they could benefit more. He attended to all the pupils, but especially to the poorest and most destitute”[396].

395 Letters of St. Joseph Calasanz, n.1319.

396 Summarium, pp. 189 y 202.

His gaze full of kindness for any human reality is evident in his attention to the sick, to the marginalized woman, to the poor and needy, to whom he extended a hand full of kindness and affection. With all of them he knew how to be a simple instrument of God’s love for man.

“His disciples, the poor, the sick and all those who came to him experienced in many ways the goodness of his soul”[397].

397 DVH.

His love extends also to those through whom suffering and misunderstanding reach him. The goodness of his heart reaches them and for them he has words of forgiveness:

“Those who try to flay me in this way do me more favors than those who flatter me. May God forgive them all and me and fill them with as much good as I ask for myself”[398].

398 Ep. n.13.

It has no other motive than the honor and glory of God

“All for the honor and glory of God”.

As we have seen, Faustino Miguez’s spiritual journey revolves around the experience of God who loves him and is “above everything”[399]. This leads to a filial attachment in him in response to this divine initiative. It is an attachment that expresses itself in Faustino in praise[400] and above all in the search for his glory.

399 Ep. n.467.

400 HPF, p. 177.

“For God, glory. To him alone is the glory due. To you, and not to me, always be the glory, my God”[401].

401 Ep. n.701 y 760; HPF, p. 177.

We stand before what was one of the great spiritual dynamics of his existence. The model is Jesus Christ, whom Faustino sees as the one who is profoundly zealous for the glory of his Father[402] and fulfills the mission entrusted to him by seeking only the glory of the one who sent him[403] and leaving his own glory in his own hands[404].

402 Ep. n.124; MSC, p. 44.

403 Jn. 7,18.

404 Jn. 8,50-54.

We must not forget that Faustino walks the path of following Christ following the spirit of Calasanz, whose faithful son he was and in whom he discovers the man driven by the glory of God:

“Who was this hero who, from his tenderest age, sought the honor and glory of God with such courage?”. It was the future founder of the Pious Schools, Joseph Calasanz, who in every moment of his life sought only to please the Sacred Heart of Jesus”[405].

405 MSC, p. 14.

He lived as if his Founder’s words to Father Alacchi were addressed to him: “He will prove to be truly poor of the Mother of God if you have nothing else in mind but the glory of God and the benefit of your neighbor”[406].

406 Espiritualidad y Pedagogía de José de Calasanz, Ensayo de síntesis, Madrid 1995, p. 44.

And as a good Piarist, Faustino Míguez became a man moved by God, by his exaltation and recognition, allowing himself to be formed by him, renouncing his own ambitions and his own honor, as we will see later. For him, this meant walking the path of detachment every day in order to place himself entirely in the hands of another and in the things of another. In this way he experienced, as St. Irenaeus says, that the glory of God is the life of man.

One of the witnesses in the beatification process defines him as a man who was “consumed by zeal for the glory of God”[407]. The decree on the heroic virtues emphasizes that he, “forgetting himself and the vanities of the world, sought only the divine glory”.

407 Summarium, p. 93.

He felt called to make the glory of God transparent here on earth, in the world, by doing everything only for him and his love”[408]. For Faustino, glorifying God means accomplishing the work that has been entrusted to us; it means joining his Will to love everyone.

408 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 28, n.XXXIII.

“To renounce for Christ everything that does not serve the honor and glory of Him whose only nourishment was to do the will of His Father”[409].

409 Ibid., p. 58, n.XII.

Man gives glory to God when he tries to discover what he wants in every situation, to welcome it and respond to it; when he occupies himself with what pleases him[410] and bets on man to reach his fullness. In Faustino, Jesus’ words to the Father resonate: “I have glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work you gave me to do, to make your name known to those you have given me”[411].

410 Ibid., p. 12, n.III y p. 48, n.VIII.

411 Jn. 17.

For Faustino Miguez, the “glory of God” is the criterion of choice par excellence. Nothing should be done and nothing should be chosen if it is not for God and for his glory[412].

412 Ep. n.495.

“Think it over and do what is best for the honor and glory of God. May God enlighten us to do what is most pleasing to him, for his greater glory”[413].

413 Ep. n.340, 360, 567 y 677.

We can say that his whole life revolved around the glorification of God, which is clearly shown in some transcendental moments of his life:

- The foundation of the Institute. At the end of his days, when he had already tasted the cross, Father Faustino reveals to us the motive that led him to found the Institute of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess:

“Your father, as you know, had no other thought than to seek the glory of God with your Institute… “[414].

414 Vilá Palá: Documents submitted for Positio Super Virtutibus (PSV), Roma 1984, p. 394.

Therefore, above all, he wanted even the most insignificant thing in the Institute to be directed towards this single goal[415]. Here we find a new link with the Calasanzian sap. We can say this trait comes to our Congregation through Fr. Faustino:

415 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 148, n.II.

“Let everything be for the honor and glory of God and the good of souls, or as my Holy Father says: for the greater increase of piety”[416].

416 Ep. n.125.

Joseph Calasanz, in the last number of the Constitutions he wrote for the Pious Schools, indicates what is the aim of the Order: “For the glory of God Almighty and for the benefit of our neighbors”[417]. And so, it is in the Bases of the Association of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess, when he expresses what the spirit of the same is: “no other motive than that of the glory of God and the salvation of oneself and others”[418].

417 Constitutions of St. Joseph Calasanz, n.345.

418 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 45, n.I.

Faustino Miguez lived so clearly and radically that this is the purpose of the Institute that we see him write on several occasions that the Congregation should disappear if it does not fulfill this purpose. God and his honor above all else, even at the cost of being willing to accept the efforts made as useless.

“For 29 years, I have been asking the Lord that if this Institute is not always for the honor and glory of God, He may dissolve it like smoke in the air without leaving even a trace or memory. I pray the Lord again and again that if this institute is to serve for his honor and glory, for the edification and salvation of souls, that he will take worthy members into his bosom who will honor it by their exemplary lives and multiply it like the stars of heaven; but if it is to be a stumbling stone and ruin to souls, that he could dissolve it like smoke in the air”[419].

419 Ep. n.230, 643 y 705.

- Analysis of the water of the springs of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. He undertook this task in the conviction that it was a good thing for people and a means of glorifying God, because He was who gave him the gift of being able to carry out this task. He is grateful to him because he knows that the glory of his work belongs to him[420].
420 HPF, p. 178.

“I drew up a plan and undertook a very difficult series of careful and delicate experiments, which, thank God, for whose glory I began them, compensated me for the patience and sleeplessness they cost me”[421].

- The vow in favor of the souls in purgatory. It is the same zeal for the glory of God that moves him to do his works in their favor, as we have already seen in the first chapter.

“For the greater honor and glory of God, who is one in his essence and triune in his person; in imitation of my sweet Redeemer…”[422].

421 Míguez, Faustino: Análisis de las aguas públicas de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Sevilla 1872, p. 15.

422 Ep. n.8.

It is openness to God, from a full faith and trust

“Let us allow God work, for it will be for something better”.

Faustino Míguez’ trust in Him arises from the experience of God’s love and infinite goodness, from which he places himself in His hands[423].

423 Ep. n.139.

“Put your trust in Him alone. Love him very much and throw yourself into the arms of His mercy”[424].

424 Ep. n.100 y 494.

“Love and only divine love” transformed him into an open, devoted heart that God wants for himself[425], teaching him little by little and through the events he experienced that “the greatest science of the creature is to place everything in the hands of his Creator, who knows why He formed it”[426].

425 Ep. n.60.

426 Ep. n.135.

“Trust in God alone, place yourself unconditionally in his hands, like clay in the hands of the potter, so that he can make of you what pleases him most”[427].

427 Ep. n.489.

For Faustino Míguez, surrender to Providence was a constant in his life, which he expressed with the phrase that was his favorite and which he repeated almost constantly: “Let us God work, because he knows what is the best for us”[428].

428 Ep. n.256.

It is a spiritual attitude that he lived out of his Calasanzian identity. By drinking from the springs of Calasanz, he makes his own what his founder’s response to the events of life is: “Let us God work”. Father Faustino, to emphasize his confidence, sometimes added “that it will be for something better” and sometimes “that he knows what is the best for us”[429].

429 Ep. n.372 y 537.

“Let us allow God to work, said my Holy Father, for there is no evil that does not come to good when everything comes from his paternal hand”[430].

430 Ep. n.408, 486 y 761.

As for Calasanz, this motto becomes for Faustino his grateful response to the favorable circumstances of life and his confident response in the face of setbacks and contradictions. It is gratitude and total trust in God the Father, who knows what is the best for us.

“Let them throw themselves into the arms of Providence, which does not abandon those who trust in it. If it wants to, it has the means to straighten out the crooked ends, and if it does not want to, it is because it is not opportune, and we must obey its orders. Blessed be he, now and always, in this and in everything!”[431].

431 Ep. n.683 y 486.

We can ask ourselves in which daily gestures, in daily life, is concretized what we call one of the mottos of Faustino Miguez’s spiritual identity:

- Letting God work, translates for him into an attitude of surrender to God, whom he trusts completely because he never abandons those who sincerely serve him[432]. This is shown, for example, when he tells M. Angeles González in a letter:
432 Ep. n.491.

“I have no such recommendations, and I would be careful not to seek them for so sacred a cause even if I could: either it is from God or it is not: if the former, he will bring it forth; if the latter, it must perish”[433].

433 Ep. n.421.

He knows and believes in the depths of his heart that God wants our good, because his love for us is so great that it far surpasses that of a mother[434]. Therefore, on his spiritual path, he learns to sing his song of faith in the face of trials: Trust in Him alone, no matter what. “His favorite saying: it will be for something better, always putting the Lord’s providence above everything”[435].

434 Del Álamo, Anselmo: Semblanza espiritual del Siervo de Dios, Madrid 1969, p. 112.

435 Summarium, p. 85.

That was his attitude in the most difficult moments of his life. During the transfer to Getafe, when the Congregation had just begun to take its first steps. It is an obedience that he accepted very calmly, trusting that Providence would take care of his daughters[436]. In his resignation as Director, which he was forced to do and in which he told Mother Angeles that they would earn a hundredfold, whether they would appoint Father Oliva or the Vicar of Sanlúcar de Barrameda[437]. And in many other moments, because “on the horizon of his life there was always a gap through which he saw heaven[438].

436 PSV, p. 508.

437 Ep. n.242.

438 Summarium Patroni responsioni additum, p. 12.

- For Faustino Míguez, allowing God to work meant accepting God’s will. That was the norm and the beginning of his life. On his path, love gave rise to the desire to do God’s will above all[439]. He wants to present God every day with his heart open and his will ready to accept His will, both in joy and in suffering[440]. His long life, totally consecrated to the Lord, was a constant act of faith and a constant and joyful yes to the will of God, which was always the norm of his life, from which he never wanted to separate, not even in the difficult moments of trial and pain”[441].
439 Ep. n.502.

440 Ep. n.728.

441 DVH.

He heroically accepts his resignation as Director of the Association of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess when he learns that the Provincial Superior does not agree to him remaining at the head of the Association. Moreover, at that moment, he understood how to accept himself as a channel through which the will of God manifests itself towards his superior, by whom he was accused of acting against the vow of obedience by seeking recommendations or not rejecting them. It is the great test that purifies him.

“He was strong in adversities and in obedience”[442]. His attitude was always one of radical acceptance of God’s will. This is what he himself expressed in a letter to M. Ángeles González shortly after his arrival in Getafe:

442 DVH.

“The doctor saw me from the beginning and told me at the first opportunity: back to Sanlúcar. I will give you a certificate that you need it, or, if you wish, I will go in person to your superior. Neither one nor the other, thank you: I did not ask to go and I will not ask to go back, even if I knew I was going to die today. That has always been my system and I will not change it at the end of my life. I have to die here or somewhere else”[443].

443 Ep. n.76.

- Letting God work makes Faustino Miguez a docile, unresisting instrument for God’s action. Little by little, he lets God take the leading role in his life. “I am a son of obedience and will not deviate from what I am told when I propose it”[444]. This makes him a man who wants to be faithful to the Spirit’s calls, who wants to follow his suggestions.
444 Ep. n.84.

“Go only with trust in God, who enlightens you for all that is of greatest service to him. Lift up your heart to the Father of lights with a lively desire to succeed”[445].

445 Ep. n.494 y 663.

This desire, which he tried to realize every day so as not to put obstacles in the way of God’s action in his life, led him to allow the dynamism of the Spirit have a victory over his earthly and fragile inclinations. The great fruit of her faithful response to the movements of this Spirit is the Calasanzian Institute of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess.

- For Faustino Miguez, it is an invitation to hope, to let God work. He knows that our God can and often does straighten out what we think is crooked[446]. This certainty made him strong in the midst of his weakness and fragility[447] and led him to accept God’s actions, whatever and however they may be. He experienced that what appears to be evil is sometimes the greatest good for those who only want to do the will of God, who knows better than we do what is good for us[448].
446 Ep. n.761.

447 PE, p. 52.

448 Ep. n.426.

From this conviction, he knew how to adopt a hopeful and firm attitude in the face of life’s contradictions, ridicule and displeasure. He knew how to wait for God to turn evil into good[449], based on his firm trust.

449 Ep. n.760.

“ We entrust the seed to the earth, the property to the sea, the crops to the storms, and will we not trust in God? What evil can befall us from a Father who loves us infinitely and desires our good infinitely more than we do ourselves?”[450].

450 PE, p. 52; Ep. n.486.

This was his experience when it was time to go to Getafe in 1888. On that occasion, he advised the young novices “not to worry, but to trust that God will take care of you more than ever”[451]; but it was difficult for them to understand this fact. Faustino helped them to realize that this was a grace for the Institute:

451 Memorias Madre Angeles, typewritten, (MMA).

“How inconsolable! That’s what they said about you when I came here 32 years ago, and it was for your own good”[452].

452 Ep. n.760.

Following in his footsteps, he “became a disciple of the Divine Master”

“Following the way of truth and the cross, he became a worthy disciple of the divine Master. He strove to become more and more like Jesus Christ, the Divine Master”[453].

453 DVH.

It was love that moved Faustino Miguez to consecrate his life to God and to follow his son in the Pious Schools.

In Jesus Christ he discovers the only model[454] for love of the Father, because he sees him as the one whose “only nourishment and rest is to do the will of God”[455] and for dedication to people, because “he goes through life doing good and, in the end, on the cross, gives it for his own enemies”[456].

454 Ep. n.140.

455 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 58, n.XII.

456 Ibid., p. 48, n.VIII; Ep. n.221.

Faustino lives the following of Christ as a conformity to Christ, as a constant resemblance to Him, in spirit and in heart[457]. Conforming to Him is his true joy as a consecrated man:

457 Ep. n.140.

“The only joy, the true joy, is to imitate the Author of joy. To be as much as possible an image of Christ as He is of His eternal Father”[458].

458 Ep. n.70; Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 22, n.XXI.

His deep desire to imitate Christ was evident throughout his life. This is the reason why, at the age of thirty-five, he took the “Vow of Souls” in Getafe: “In imitation of my sweet Savior”[459].

459 Ep. n.8.

From his Piarist vocation, he follows Christ, the Truth and Master, who welcomes and caresses children[460]. From the contemplation of Christ, the Master, emerges one of the elements that Faustino considers indispensable in the life of those who have consecrated themselves to God: Becoming disciples of the one and only true Master. Only in this way will it be possible to become one with Him[461].

460 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 206, n.XIV.

461 HPF, pp. 86-87.

He understands that this is the way of discipleship: to live from the attitude of Christ[462], to behave in all actions as He would[463], to be ready to do everything for Jesus Christ, to live only for him and to try to please him in all actions[464].

462 Ep. n.140.

463 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 22, n.XXI.

464 Ibid., p. 24, n.XXIV.

In his deep contact with the Lord, from his state as a disciple, he progressed on the path of identification with him. True prayer is which makes us grow in Christ. In this regard, Luis Rodríguez, Father Faustino’s altar boy in Getafe, tells us: “I have always seen in him the calm, serene man who enjoys a deep friendship with the Lord”[465].

465 Summarium Patroni responsioni additum, p. 9.

As a Piarist, Faustino Míguez also identified himself with the image of the crucified Christ, one of the images that Joseph Calasanz proposed to his religious: “In profound silence and serenity of body and mind, kneeling or in another suitable posture, we will endeavor, following the example of St. Paul, to contemplate and imitate the crucified Christ and the various steps of his life. We will remember this again and again throughout the day”[466].

466 Letters of St. Joseph Calasanz, n.44.

In his life we find signs that tell us of his profound love for the Cross and the Passion of the Lord. We have already referred to the sermon on the Descent from the Cross that he preached in Celanova. Also, his contact with the Confraternity of the Vera Crux in Monforte, which undoubtedly helped him to broaden and deepen this spirituality of the cross.

But Faustino not only meditated on the cross. We can say that he savored the taste of it in his life. In his frequent contemplation of the Passion of the Lord, he discovered that love, is sealed in Christ, whom he wanted to imitate, with suffering and the cross[467]. And in this desire for identification through love, he also encounters misunderstandings, criticism, renunciation, which undoubtedly lead him to the wisdom of the cross. He is convinced that “it is better to be with Christ on the cross than to contemplate it from afar”[468] and that is why he takes up the cross every day, as Jesus did, out of fidelity to the will of the Father. This is how he expresses it to us:

467 Ep. n.146.

468 Ep. n.146.

“To strive to bear the burden the Master has laid upon you is to fulfill his holy will. If you are praised for it: Not us, Lord, but your name deserves the glory. When you are rebuked: Blessed be God, who thus cleanses here”[469].

469 PSV, p. 147.

The words of Sirach, “Son, if you decide to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for the test”[470], became a reality in his life. The cross of misunderstanding from those who do not understand and do not agree with his working outside of school, attending the School of Friends, or dedicating himself to educating girls and being associated with a women’s organization came upon him. He took the cross of criticism and denunciation from the medical class of Sanlúcar de Barrameda for his attention and commitment to the sick.

470 Sirach 2,1.

In his life there was also the heavy cross of renewed separation from the religious during the crisis that the Institute suffered in 1923. The path to the goal became increasingly difficult, but his deep faith made him discover God in the end and he did not hesitate to continue moving forward despite the pain and darkness.

After the unexpected death of M. Julia Requena, the Superior General, in October 1923, a difference of opinion arose in the Congregation about the person who should take over the vacant post. Father Faustino intervened and advised the Council according to the rules of common and particular Law, of which he had a profound knowledge.

But events developed in such a way that the Church had to intervene through the Visitator of the Diocese of Madrid and the Nuncio. Faustino describes the steps taken in this situation in a letter he wrote to the Institute on February 10, 1924, a few months before his isolation was ordered by the Church and just over a year before his death:

“Beloved daughters: before bidding you farewell forever, I consider it my duty to justify to you my conduct in order to preserve your peace of mind by explaining the steps I have taken. Remain on the path of observance and you will thus give glory to God and your Father, who is blessing you publicly for the last time, will be happy”[471].

471 PSV, p. 394.

But Fr. Faustino was confronted with the cross of isolation from the religious because of events and his actions, even though he had intended nothing but good for his beloved Congregation. This isolation was imposed on him by the Nuncio, through the Provincial Superior.

And he accepted this test as a gift from God, because in the midst of it he intensified his relationship and contact with Him[472]. His response to this visitation of God in his life was “to love and to suffer”. After his profound experience that God loves him, all that remains is for him to surrender to love so that it can do what it wants with him. Those who were around him remember him with serenity and peace: “And I learned of the many trials and sufferings I had endured for Christ. I understood that true holiness bears the seal of the cross. I was fascinated by his silent, suffering, patient, Eucharistic and Marian life”[473].

472 FMS, p. 352.

473 Summarium Patroni responsioni additum, p. 4.

Under these circumstances, he wrote a letter to Mª Amada García, whose spiritual director she was before becoming a religious and who had a great affection for Fr. Faustino. He was a person who deeply assimilated the congregational spirit.

“My daughter, since you have not seen me nor I you, and I know that you are going through and suffering terrible things, as you often used to tell me about what is happening to you, and we are far away now; let us unite our feelings, do not suffer anything, everything will pass; I want you to enjoy the peace that Jesus grants you when you truly give yourself to Jesus and Mary. Do not be grieved and pay attention to nothing; love and suffer, I do the same; I am leaving soon and bid you farewell, do not be grieved, when the Lord calls you, I will pick you up to take you to Jesus and to Our Mother, the Divine Shepherdess; try to prepare yourself well so that your preparation will please Our “two loves”. Continue to work for the souls entrusted to you by the Superiors”[474].

474 PSV, p. 395.

And one day, in October 1924, the Lord allowed Father Faustino to carry the burden of a new cross on his shoulders: to bear the guilt for everything that had happened in such a complicated case. And so, he made it known by writing it with a pencil on an envelope after celebrating the Eucharist. It was addressed to the Superior of Getafe and dated October 1924:

“Because I have understood as said to Mother Mary, what the Cardinal Protector said to her second, I am the cause of all the displeasure I feel in my soul that I experienced today at Mass. I ask you to tell this to the Visitator so that I can be held responsible for everything and so that he can dump all the responsibility on me. Sorry I cannot write better. (on the back): If you can understand, please tell him today. Faustino Míguez”[475].

475 Ibid., p. 395; Summarium, p. 89.

“To love and to suffer” was the motto of a man, Faustino Míguez, whom God led on the dark and hard path of trial to holiness. “To love and to suffer” expresses the spiritual path of a man who wanted to be fully of God in response to divine love, and who endured tribulation in his life out of this very love. “Suffering purified his soul and caused the great virtues to take root in his heart, among which humility stands out”[476].

476 Funeral oration. P. Juan Mármol; PSV, p. 504.

He allowed himself to be molded and shaped; he was a true disciple of the one Master and thus became an image of Christ, as he is of his eternal Father[477]. This is the proposal he does to the sisters from his deepest inner experience:

477 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 22, n.XXI.

“To be convinced that you came into the Congregation like a rough tree trunk, so that all the sisters, like so many sculptors, with their thoughts, words and works, could carve, paint and gild it until they could make of it the most perfect image of a perfect religious”[478].

478 Ibid., p. 57, n.VIII.

On this path of following Christ, Mary, the Mother of God’s poor, was a constant point of reference for Father Faustino. She knew how to follow in the footsteps of her Son, with her eyes fixed solely on God and ready to do good for the whole world[479].

479 Ibid., p. 50.

He lives radical self-emptying

I will sacrifice my honor

In his spiritual experience, Faustino Miguez also contemplated with great depth the mystery of Christ’s incarnation and discovered in it a call to humility, simplicity and anonymity. By turning his gaze to Jesus Christ, he encounters the one who humbled himself as the Son of God and assumed the condition of a servant out of love[480].

480 Ibid., p. 206, n.XIII.

From here, for Faustino, as for all those who want to follow in the footsteps of Christ[481], discipleship becomes a path of renunciation, exposure and humility that purifies him under the guidance of love and leads him to God, the Absolute.

481 HPF, p. 87.

Throughout his life, he walked the path of humility, accepting his own fragility[482], his personal reality, his strong character, the simple events of each day. All this brought him suffering, which he knew how to accept, and taught him true wisdom, of which he used to say that:

482 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 53.

“God permits certain faults even in those he loves most, so that they may realize all the more what they can think of themselves and place all their hope in Him alone”[483].

483 Ep. n.55 y 74.

Like Joseph Calasanz, he considers humility to be the foundation of life in Christ[484] because it centers us in God, leads us out of the knowledge of our smallness to communicate with the little ones, and places us at their service[485].

484 Ep. n.745.

485 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 191, n.III; p. 205, n.XIII.

Faustino Míguez lived humility as a detachment from what he had and possessed. He knows that he cannot be proud of nothing because he has received everything. From his actions at various times, we can see that he felt himself to be the custodian of gifts given to him for the service of his brothers and that he used them with constant reference to God[486].

486 Ibid., p. 65, n.X; Ep. n.694.

But Faustino oriented his life towards humility, above all towards the exposure of himself, of his honor, so that in this way the glory of God would shine alone and with greater clarity. “In everything he did, he sought only the glory of God and the good of men”[487].

487 Summarium Patroni responsioni additum, p. 11.

In his spiritual life, we discover him from the beginning with the desire to be detached. Even at a young age, he shows that everything is a surplus[488]. The circumstances he has lived through and his desire to live in fidelity to the Spirit make him a man who is willing to renounce everything. When the time came, he was able to sacrifice even which was dear to him, such as his close accompaniment of the novices at the beginning of the Institute and his dedication to the sick in the face of unfounded criticism from the doctors of Sanlúcar. He shows us that he is not attached to the work that God has placed in his hands, nor to his therapeutic knowledge, which he has always used for the good of his brothers. He shows that he is only attached to one thing: the fulfillment and acceptance of what is revealed to him through the mediations as God’s will.

488 Ep. n.5.

But there is still something from which he must detach himself, from which he must come out. To this end, the Lord will lead him deep into this path of detachment. And now with the renunciation of something much more intimate, his own honor, which, as he himself says, “he “loves more than his life”. God will touch the most secret part of his existence and ask him to give it to him.

We are in 1891, Father Faustino was in Getafe, dedicating himself to his courses and guiding the steps of the Association through correspondence. It was a year of appointments of new superiors and thus of personnel changes that led him to accept the possibility of his transfer to another community[489].

489 Ep. n.235.

On November 10th of the same year, he received a letter from the Provincial Superior. This letter seems to have been motivated by the requests of influential people in Seville who asked the Provincial Congregation to send Father Faustino back to Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The people mentioned in this letter are: the Rector of the University of Seville, the Dean, the Archbishop, Mr. Mochales, Mr. Sánchez Toca. He had had a close relationship with all of them during his stay in this city.

It is assumed that Father Faustino knew of all these influences in order to obtain his transfer. Serious accusations are also made against him, such as that he had sought recommendations to be transferred back to Sanlúcar and thus force the superiors to comply with his will; that he had devoted himself more to the Association of women than to the Pious Schools, that he had spent almost all day in the company of the novices when he was in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and that he had reduced his efforts in teaching.

The following are a few paragraphs of said letter: “The religious who seeks recommendations or does not refuse them wants to do his will and is in direct violation of the vow of obedience… Zeal for the good of souls has inspired you to found an Association of women whose organization I do not know… What a Piarist does without observing the duties of a Piarist cannot be acceptable in the eyes of God… I do not mention the complaints sent to the superior because you have set yourself up as a quack”[490].

490 PSV, p. 213.

Faustino’s first impulse in the face of this is defensive. There is no doubt that he acted as he did because, as is typical of him, he had a sincere and radical desire for “the truth to prevail.” He feels that he has been the subject of false accusations, and not only him, but also the Congregation he founded.

“But I claim not only my honor from calumnies and insults, but also that of the Institution I founded”[491].

491 FMS, p. 172.

After an exchange of letters with Father General on this matter, we are once again faced with a man who submits to God and not to facts and is willing to expose and divest himself of what he now knows is his own honor.

Faustino’s response to the last communication he received from Father General speaks to us of the greatness and spiritual depth he has attained. He makes a heroic gesture out of love for God, the first in his life, and out of fidelity to the vocation he has awakened in him:

“…for I love the Pious School very much; I have always given myself for it and in the future, I will sacrifice myself with God’s favor and I will sacrifice my honor, which I love more than my life, if Your Paternity sees it fit”[492].

492 Ibid., p. 173.

It is the hour of deprivation for him. The hour of radically living “God alone”. The hour in which God penetrated deeply into his life. Faustino Miguez listened to God’s loving command: “Go to the potter’s house”, there you will understand what my call is: “Come with nothing”. He understood that offering himself to God’s love meant totally emptying himself in order to place himself in his hands.

And he renounced his own honor because he once again discovered God’s will in the Superior General’s suggestion, as an invitation to empty himself completely.

1891 was a critical year for Father Faustino. But it was above all a year of grace. Through this experience, a dimension of his own life was purified in him, like gold in a crucible. This broke the anchors in him to move on in a more radical way, as he wanted, in the air of God.

Now a phase begins for Father Faustino in which his inner experience of “God alone” shines even more clearly because it polarizes his whole life. In the midst of crisis and darkness, he allows God to triumph totally in his life and learns in a decisive way that “God alone is necessary”. Thus, his spiritual journey is a true path to his center, which is God.

In radicality and authenticity

“To be as one should be or not to be”.

To be as one should be or not to be was another of the great convictions that are part of Fr. Faustino’s personal and spiritual identity. Under the influence and action of the Holy Spirit, he always chose to be:

“I did not come to the Congregation to work out my eternal happiness with misunderstood reasoning, nor to follow the popular motto “Let us live!’ that others pronounce with so much emphasis”[493].

493 PSV, p. 58.

As we have seen, from his first steps in the Pious Schools, he wanted to follow the Calasanzian vocation as a call to serve God alone, overcoming obstacles and human considerations. He believed that the essence of religious life is evangelical radicalism. To live from this, to respond in fullness, is a demand that comes from within. “He always strove to live the charism of his Order to the fullest”[494].

494 DVH.

As a result of this personal inclination “to be” in authenticity, which characterized him at the level of thought and action, we never see Father Faustino emphasizing the external forms, but rather the attitudes, the truth of the inner man:

“I do not want excesses in fasting or anything else, I want a great love for God and his mother. In this sense, as best I can”[495].

495 Ep. n.387.

“To be or not to be” is for him a challenge to which he tries to respond and which he expresses in a particular way in some traits of his life: the observance of the Rule, the defense of the religious spirit, the search for truth and justice and his availability.

Father Faustino understood the Rule as the expression of an order that responds to the will of God[496]. This view of the law, deeply rooted in him since his formation, resulted in his energetic advocacy of its observance and his ardent desire that the superiors watch over it and thus guarantee the rights of individuals and communities. Proof of this are the two memoranda he sent to the Nuncio when he was stationed in San Fernando, in which he asked that the provisions of the Constitutions regarding the administration of the Pious Schools be followed.

496 FMS, p. 94.

“Only the reintroduction of our Rule and its primitive observance can solve such difficulties”[497].

497 Memorandum to the Nuncio. February 1861. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

But Father Faustino did not live religious observance as slavery, as mere external fulfillment[498], but as a means of enjoying authentic life[499], expressing love and responding to his vocation[500]. A response that he had to give every day until the end. In this regard, the following testimony told to us by M. Lourdes Morote is very meaningful: “I remember that when he left for his school, he speed up his pace too much. Father, I told him, you are going too fast and you could fall. I want to arrive on time, it’s fasting day. So old and still fasting? Don’t you know that you have to keep the Rule until the last moment of life?”[501]. The nearness of the end of the road did not exempt him from the response of love. His radicalism was above all a radicalism of love that keeps us in commitment[502].

498 Ep. n.124.

499 Ep. n.119.

500 Summarium Patroni responsioni additum, p. 12.

501 Ibid., p. 12.

502 Ep. n.124.

As we said in the first chapter, his request to go to Argentina was also motivated by what he felt was one of his great longings: to live the Constitutions in depth. In the letter he writes to Father General, he informs him that he knows that the primitive Rule is being observed at the recent foundation of Buenos Aires. There he finds the answer to what he wants so much. The news reached him through Father Ramón Cabeza, who has been there since October 1870, together with Father Fermín Molina[503].

503 Vilá Palá, Claudio: Calasanz Casanovas, Salamanca 1970, pp. 392 y 394.

But the same radicalism that he seeks so much and for which he fights so hard, because it is sincere and profound, makes him the man who can be sent anywhere to carry out the mission entrusted to him.

He was also a vigorous advocate of truth and justice from his option for authenticity. On several occasions, he raised his voice in favor of the same. He was always ready to contribute his small part of the truth, as an approximation to the full truth. We must not forget that this search in the early years of his religious life was characterized by his youthful vigor and strong character. But in any case, his deep interest and desire to subject everything to the crucible of truth was always evident[504]. “As for being a man with a strong character, I believe that he should rather be described as a man of great rectitude in his actions and in his determination to do everything with nobility and loyalty”[505].

504 Letter to Fr. General, from San Fernando School. 1861. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

505 Summarium Patroni responsioni additum, p. 11.

In his case, the struggle for truth also stemmed from loyalty to his conscience, whose cry he could not suppress in order not to be unfaithful to God. For Faustino Míguez, fidelity to the “inner, intimate sense” is fidelity to God[506], because it is the voice that dictates to us what we must or must not do in all circumstances[507]. Following the dictates of his conscience, “which cries out for the truth to come to light”[508], makes him a man who is deeply committed to the reality he must face.

506 HPF, p. 19; FMS, p. 95.

507 HPF, p. 20.

508 Memorandum to the Nuncio. 1861. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid.

On the other hand, Father Faustino lived in a difficult time for religious communities in Spain due to previous historical circumstances. Nevertheless, he always kept alive in his vocation the desire to preserve and strengthen the authentic religious spirit, both on a personal and congregational level.

“There is no more compelling occasion to address Your Excellency than this, in which every son of St. Joseph Calasanz today finds himself truly animated by his spirit and the sincere desire that his will be fulfilled”[509].

509 FMS, p. 43.

In his writings, he refers several times to the “spirit” that characterizes religious life

“If the Apostle himself says of Holy Scripture that the letter kills and the spirit enlivens, how much better can we say it of the Rules? Spirit, heart and right intention in everything”[510].

510 Ep. n.124.

What does Father Faustino want to express when he speaks of “animated by his spirit”, what does he mean by religious spirit, what content does he give it? We can say that he sees it above all in the fact that he lives according to what he has vowed and promised as a Piarist[511], that he lives according to the Rules[512], that he acts in the awareness that he belongs to God to whom he has consecrated himself[513], that he lives without masks and in authenticity[514], that he follows what Calasanz wanted for his Order[515]. His actions, his being as a Piarist, are imbued with these deep convictions, which became constant points of reference on his path.

511 Ep. n.559.

512 Ep. n.119.

513 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 12, n.II.

514 PSV, p. 58.

515 Memorandum to the Nuncio. 1861. Copy in Archivo General del Instituto Calasancio Hijas de la Divina Pastora. Madrid; Letter to Visitator., PSV, pp. 57-59.

Being authentic, living in radicalism, is something that is rooted in Father Faustino, something that became part of his own identity. That is why he could not forget it when he founded the Congregation, and it is one of the proposals he made most insistently to the religious.

“Either to be as you are and as you should be, or not to be. Either to be a good religious and always better, or not to be at all”[516].

516 Ep. n.99.

It is unreserved self-giving

“Consecrated to the teaching of the people”.

In his encounter with the Lord and in the contemplation of his mystery, Faustino discovered that the life of Christ was a self-gift in favor of the humble and the little ones, as an incarnate expression of God’s unconditional love for mankind. He understood that life is a gift that one receives in order to give it generously.

Thus, we find Faustino on the path of identification with Christ, who went about doing good and who devoted himself intensely to education, the sick, sinners and abandoned female children. His loving look at all those he encountered became a call for him to abandon himself and his things in favor of these people. “He had a genuine love for his neighbor, which he always served joyfully through his spiritual service, his teaching and his phytotherapeutic activities. He lived devotedly in piety, apostolate, study and work”[517].

517 DVH.

He lived his donation oblivious to his personal interests[518] in order to remain available for the needs he perceived around him. Love places him at the service of his brothers, and he makes his love a gift for them[519]. “His goodness led him to make the most difficult sacrifices for the good of others”[520].

518 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 197, n.XIV.

519 Ep. n.140.

520 Lucha contra la enfermedad, revisión científica del Dr. Basil Cavernali, Madrid 1965, p. 5.

As a Piarist, he knew he was consecrated to the service of the people through his educational and priestly ministry. From this reality, he felt that he did not belong to himself, but to children and young people, ordinary people and the poor. Dedicated to the “divine mission”[521] of education, he contributed to man’s attainment of the happiness that God intended for him and to the renewal of humanity.

521 HPF, p. 49.

Through his teaching activity, he is at the service of man to help him discover goodness, dignity and greatness in himself[522]. For this reason, and as we have seen in the previous chapters, he deeply loves the work of education. And in it he spends his life day after day, full of joy and hope, because he is convinced that this mission is a service to the Kingdom of God and a benefit to society[523].

522 Ibid., p. 49.

523 Ibid., p. 49; TE, p. 18.

There are small and simple gestures in him that reveal to us someone who is drawn to education and is intensely dedicated to it: his desire for the fullness of the human person[524], his love and closeness to his students, his ability to listen, his interest in the world and in the things of children and young people[525], his constant and deep desire to learn in order to give.

524 Ibid., p. 51.

525 Summarium Patroni responsioni additum, p. 10.

Faustino Míguez is a man who is drawn to everything human because his heart is deeply rooted in God. He dedicates himself wherever he finds a human need, and this is also evident in his priestly work, which he practiced intensively, and in his care for the sick. He used his time, his knowledge and, above all, his kindness and his ability to welcome the sick.

His desire for radicalism is also reflected in his characteristic spiritual trait of self-giving. Already in Cuba, we see him ready to give his life joyfully with his shoulder to the wheel[526]. Every day he asks God for what he sees as the great test of love and self-giving: martyrdom.

526 Ep. n.5.

“If only God would let us all die for his love! May God grant me what I have always asked of him, the grace of martyrdom, which implies the gift of perseverance”[527].

527 Ep. n.452.

It is an obvious sign that he is aware of his loving, sincere and radical devotion to God, whose love is a fire that burns his heart and makes him burn with the desire to live, suffer and give himself for the One he loves.

It is an inner attitude that manifests the fullness of love and self-giving from which he strives to live. He wants to be an incarnate expression of love in his life. As a follower of Jesus, he is ready to give his life for others in a self-giving in which nothing is reserved for himself. He is prepared to follow him and give himself for his cause, the kingdom of God, even to the point of voluntarily sacrificing his own life.

Faustino expresses this trait of his spirituality in the Constitutions of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess. Devotion to the point of death, if necessary, is an essential feature of their spiritual identity. They are to follow in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd, who is always ready to lay down his life for the sheep.

“They will try to be ready, if circumstances require it, to sacrifice themselves for their neighbor and even to give their own lives for him”[528].

528 Míguez, Faustino: Reglas de las Hijas de la Divina Pastora, Madrid 1906, p. 48, n.VIII.

A path of holiness

If we look at Father Faustino’s spiritual path, we find a man who understood life as the great adventure that involves growth towards the highest of being, and who always saw himself as a wanderer on the path to God:

“Our home is the heavens. So, imitate the pilot who does not look at the sea but at the compass to reach his destination. Look to God and not to the sea of the world”[529].

529 Ep. n.139.

Holiness opens up before him as an ideal, as an urgent call. He was not born a saint, he became one.

“We are all bound to be saints, for that is the will of God”[530].

530 Ep. n.138.

His path to this goal is expressed in the Decree of Heroic Virtues, which is reproduced below:

“Among the religious who have distinguished themselves by following Christ and practicing the evangelical counsels, we must include the Servant of God Faustino Míguez, who became a worthy disciple of the Divine Master by the way of truth and the cross. He served the Church and society with joyful dedication and perseverance, putting the talents he had received from God at the disposal of his neighbors, especially the sick, the poor, his young students, whom he taught, and the needy girls, for whom he founded a Religious Institute.

The Servant of God was born on March 24, 1831 in Xamirás, a parish in the municipality of Acevedo del Río, diocese of Orense. His parents were Benito Míguez and María González, farmers and good Christians. He was baptized the day after his birth and given the name Manuel. He was confirmed a year later. He attended school with great success, first in his village and later at the Shrine of Miracles.

Feeling called to the consecrated life, he joined the Order of the Clerics Regular Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, but not without overcoming the opposition of his parents, who had other plans for him. He took the religious habit at the school of San Fernando in Madrid under the name Faustino of the Incarnation. He made his solemn profession in 1853 and was ordained a priest in 1856.

For a time, he was a teacher at the school of Guanabacoa in Cuba, where he had gone with other religious brothers, at the invitation of St. Anthony Mary Claret. He then became interested in botanical studies and devoted himself to an activity that would eventually become one of his favorite pastimes, namely the collection and distribution of medicinal herbs that cured a number of ailments.

When he returned to Spain, he lived in various convents of his Order, where he carried out his duties to perfection as professor of science and occasionally as head of the boarders. At the same time, in order to help the sick, he devoted himself to the production of phytotherapeutic products, with which he achieved astonishing cures. This work brought him a large clientele, great fame and a high income from voluntary contributions; however, it also brought him criticism and opposition, which he overcame with great composure and strength.

In 1885, while assigned to the convent of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, he founded the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess for the care and education of poor girls, with the approval of his Superior General and the canonical authorization of the Archbishop of Seville. Without neglecting his other activities, he helped and led this new religious family with great care and prudence, encountering no small difficulties in the process.

In 1888 he was assigned to the convent of Getafe near Madrid, where he remained until his death. He devoted himself to teaching (which he gave up at the age of sixty), his studies, the care of the institute he founded, the ministry of confession for sinners and spiritual direction, as well as therapeutic work. Nor did he lack the cross of moral suffering, which was gradually joined by the physical suffering appropriate to his advanced age. He died on March 8, 1925.

His long life, entirely consecrated to the Lord, was a constant act of faith and a constant and joyful yes to the will of God, which was always the supreme norm of his life, from which he never wanted to separate, even in the difficult moments of trial and pain. Firmly grounded in Christian doctrine, he did not limit himself to believing in the revealed truths, but also endeavored to make them known, especially to his disciples, the sick and his spiritual sons and daughters. He nourished his faith and his union with God in the fervent celebration of Holy Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, in devotion to the Eucharist and Our Lady, in prayer, in love for the Church and the Pope, in the observance of his religious vows and in fidelity to the Rule and charism of his Order.

He loved God above all things, forgot himself and the vanities of the world and sought only his glory. To please the Lord, he took the utmost care of his priestly and religious vocation, avoided every form of willful sin and strove to become more and more like Jesus Christ, the divine Master of perfection. He had a genuine love for his neighbor, which he always served joyfully through his spiritual ministry, his teaching and his phytotherapeutic activities. His disciples, the poor, the sick and those who came to him to confess their sins or to receive his spiritual guidance experienced the goodness of his soul in many ways. The very foundation of a new congregation is a clear sign of how great his concern was for the human and Christian education of poor girls.

He loved his Order and always endeavored to live its charism to the full. He was never bitter or said bitter words to those who criticized and harmed him. He knew how to control his naturally fierce temperament by showing complete self-control and being truly humble, patient, prudent and merciful to all. He was just towards God and just towards his neighbor; strong in need and obedience, sober in the use of earthly goods, devoted to piety, the apostolate, study, work and a lover of mortification.

Despite everything, he already enjoyed a reputation for holiness during his lifetime and even after his death he was remembered as a religious adorned with great virtues and was invoked as an intercessor before God. For this reason, the Bishop of Madrid decided to begin the process of his canonization with the Ordinary Informative Process (1953-1954).

On January 7, 1982, the decree initiating the process was promulgated, exempting him from the apostolic process. After the “Positio” had been presented, the virtues of the Servant of God were examined. On June 26, 1990, the Special Congress of Theological Consultors was held, presided over by the General Promoter of the Faith, Monsignor Antonio Petti. Then, on October 20, 1992, the Ordinary Congregation of Cardinals and Bishops, presided over by His Excellency Don Ottorino Pietro Alberti, Archbishop of Calabria, recognized that the priest of the Order of Clerics Regular Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, Faustino Míguez, had exercised the theological, cardinal and all other related virtues to a heroic degree.

After the undersigned Cardinal Prefect had submitted a detailed report on all this to Pope John Paul II, His Holiness, accepting and confirming the wishes of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, ordered the drafting of the decree on the heroic virtues of the Servant of God.

After this mandate had been duly fulfilled, the Holy Father, in the presence of the Cardinal Prefect who signed it, the Presenter of the Case and myself, the Prelate Secretary of the Congregation, as well as the others who are usually convened according to custom, solemnly declared: That the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, as well as the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, and the others associated with these in heroic measure, are established by the Servant of God Faustino Miguez, priest of the Order of Clerics Regular Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, Founder of the religious community Calasanzian Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess, in the case and for the effects at issue. Given in Rome on December 21, 1992. Angelo card. Felici, Prefect. Edoardo Nowak, Arch. tit. of Luni”.

ANNEXES

Pedagogical discourse delivered by Fr. Faustino in Celanova (Orense). 1868

Introduction to the book Análisis de las aguas públicas de Sanlúcar de Barrameda, written by Fr. Faustino Míguez. 1872

Father Faustino´s advices to the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess. 1922

Pedagogical Discourse delivered by Fr. Faustino in Celanova (Orense)

“What a situation is mine in these solemn moments, when every eminently enlightened and religious audience turns their eyes to my lips because of the contrast of the subject and the inadequacy of my powers! How many memories of my childhood, some of which I spent under these vaults! Strong emotions! How many loved objects and indispensable circumstances reinforce my commitment, which is complicated in itself.

This audience, to whom I address my words for the first time, and to whom I owe infinite attention; this illustrious Municipal Council and its worthy president, whose titles for our recognition my stammering tongue cannot fathom; this most illustrious Provincial Council and Civil Governor, who has earned so much from the Corporation to which I unworthily belong; this noble lady, whose munificence and hereditary piety is a weak trait this precious monstrance, built at her expense, and whose sympathies for this country coincide with those of her illustrious husband; His Excellency (he refers to the Bishop present there), who hears for the first time the least of his collaborators, and whose pleasant memory will forever remain in the hearts of the true children of St. Joseph Calasanz… they all are things worthy of special praise, and deserve an orator who, with the depth of his talent to appreciate them in all their value, and with the sensibility of heart to feel them with delicacy, would unite in a high degree the art of good speech and the authority that I, as an interested person in the quality of the favored, do not possess.”

Thus begins the exordium of this piece of oratory, that made a deep impression on all the spectators, and continues the peroration with some praises to the Pious Schools in their work as educators

“… coming from one of their most illustrious sons, and called perhaps by divine favor to raise him from the glory of the altars, one day it would plague my conscience to silence them.

“To populate the earth with honest and enlightened citizens and heaven with human angels, to renew society from the bottom up, and to bring about the happiness of men through a sincere and free education, is the divine mission of the Pious Schools. To fulfill it well, it takes care of the education of the child, who in his few years carries within himself the future of the family and of the whole society. He represents the human race that is reborn, the home that is preserved and the flower of humanity that is renewed. In its eyes, the child is the whole human race, the whole humanity, the whole man, the claim to the citizenship of all authorities and to the action and benefit of all powers, divine and human. For him were instituted princes and priests, poors and teachers; for him there is the magistrate and the family, the society and the church; and discipline and morality, and doctrine and letters, and sciences and arts, and religion and the citizens of Providence. All the prizes of labor and all the rewards of virtue are of the child and for the child, for he is of God and for God. He is the Son of his power and the work of his hand and the image of his glory.

More than whatever the world longs for, the amethysts of India and the diamonds of Ethiopia, the emeralds of Scythia and the carbuncles of Garabatos, more than the topazes of Arabia and the diasproses of Egypt, the pearls of the Persian Sea and the diamonds of Gioconda, the Pious Schools will always seek and will find its happiness in this, to perfect that being that breathes only innocence and grace, which presents itself in all its celestial charm and attracts the divine blessing around it, which offers the world the beautiful traits of sincerity and virtue and spreads in everything the love of heaven and the delights of earth.

Neither the gold of Ophir and the perfumes of Arabia, nor the silks of China or the elaborate materials of Persia, nor the colorful furs of Siberia, nor the brilliant feathers of Lydia, nor the fiery purple of Sidonia, nor the ivory of Osiris, nor the radiant moons of Venice, nor the beauties of all the arts, have for the Pious Schools the attraction of childhood, whose excellent heart and sublime spirit, whose noble soul and beautiful features enchant it and stimulate it to awaken their dormant faculties and give life, movement and action to their still imperfect existence.

The Pious Schools is the most admirable reflection of the action, goodness and divine wisdom. It assumes the background and matter of the child’s first creation, and undertakes the task of molding it, and at the same time impressing upon it goodness and dignity, culture and greatness, breathing into it, as it were, life and vigor, grace and intelligence.

By the culture it recognizes and polishes the talents of the child, directing and perfecting them. By exercise it brings his powers into play and redoubles them, adapting them to the various circumstances of life, related to temporal and eternal interests. By instruction, it develops by example all the affections of the heart, and removes the obstacles which his young intelligence deems insuperable. And by study, it explores his faculties, investigates the subjects to which they are most suited, and examines the means of understanding them with greater facility and perfection.

Through usefulness it makes use of the good of society and in favor of the same child even his bad qualities and makes use of even his worst inclinations, and through gratitude he maintains his active cooperation, the docility of his conscience, his personal and spontaneous and generous exercise. It opens his breast, enlarges his powers, expands his soul, that already disdains the obstacles that oppose his march; he throws himself boldly on the most arduous tasks; on the wings of enthusiasm he flies in pursuit of the most important triumphs.

The Pious Schools works in time with nature in the moral and intellectual development of the child, in his physical development with the same constancy, with the same gentleness, following his steps, observing his movements, studying his touches and observing his periods, making the child pass through different stages and adapting its teachings and lessons, its culture and its exercises to the course of age, the strengths of the individual and the progressive development of his nature.

Out of reverence for the angels of the Lord, whose good pleasure he discovers, and for his own sake, and for the sake of the society in whose interest it works, all that it says, all that it does, it instructs and forbids, to make them comprehend the divine wisdom, and to excite in their tender hearts a deep appreciation of such usefulness; to cultivate and reveal in them the gifts of nature, and to elevate their faculties to their utmost vigor and perfection.

In proportion as they develop their faculties and acquire discernment, in proportion as their hearts are strengthened and their conscience enlightened, in proportion as their minds are fortified and their characters strengthened, the Pious School crowns their intelligences with a higher wisdom, their characters with a more vigorous strength, and their consciences with clearer lights. It illuminates the candor of innocence and ennobles it with the sweetest name of virtue, of its perpetual struggle, of that glorious resistance, of victory over all, of triumph over the passions, tamed by that solid education which strengthens the weak, as the stream strengthens the reed that is stirred up on the shore, and in the greatest storms makes the strong as tender as the strong oaks are tender when the wind strikes them.

Thus it works for intellectual progress; thus love works for human development; thus it continues the divine creation; thus it leads to that infinite perfection which is revealed to all by religion: for all, rich and poor, monarchs and vassals, young and old, all must strive, each according to the measure of divine grace and the strength of the natural faculties, after that wisdom, that virtue, and that holiness which is their crown. This is the Christian acknowledgement, and the duty of the Pious School is to teach them to follow it.

No, the education it offers is neither concrete nor limited. It embraces the whole person in his entire development. Its goal is human perfection, and its constant desire is to achieve it. Its aim is to give the human faculties all the growth of which they are capable. It seeks to utilize all dispositions, to cultivate all talents, to conquer all hearts, to uplift all spirits, for the good of the individual and for the benefit of society as a whole.

The Pious Schools give this education to the youth not only as an imperative necessity, as an indispensable condition of their existence, but also as a noble and invaluable ornament which makes their rough nature soft, and adorns and beautifies it. Like the gem cutter who takes the rough diamond and, without violating its original nature, gives it that shape and that brilliance, that embellished shine, and those radiant facets that enchant and dazzle, becoming a jewel of human beauty and a precious gift from the earth.

The Pious Schools gives youth, as well, a lighter ease and more graceful movements, a sweeter action and a finer and nobler life. It polishes their minds and hearts, polishes their character and feelings, and gives them something sweet and simple, as well as graceful and charming, that beautifies even virtue, and is to the child the magnet of souls and the talisman of hearts.

An enemy of appearances, it despises that frivolous elegance that, under the tinsel of the most pleasing forms, conceals a real rudeness of manners, necessary a purple laziness, a truly uneducated mind, and a character whose unsociable pride is soon out of bounds. And it endeavors to give the child that education which will form the character, and germinate in the heart the virtuous tendencies that will ensure the tranquility and innocence of his life; which enlightens his conscience with the lights which the past centuries have shone; which strengthens him by the first impressions of virtue against the dangers of the grossest passions, and uses knowledge to broaden his mind, confirm his judgment and strengthen his reason.

Convinced that knowledge alone does not give the mind the vigor, action, and vivacity it needs, nor the generous development, active vigor, and energetic agility of the faculties, he refuses to store them up in the young man’s mind and to load his memory with them as a store. It develops his faculties by education and enriches his mind by instruction, making him a man by education and a wise man by instruction.

It readily admits the influence of instruction, the greatness of its value, the power of its effect, and the importance of its details; but it refuses to sacrifice moral and religious and even intellectual education, if it only instructs without elevating the mind, and loads it with knowledge without increasing its power.

It prefers that education which leads him to receive and guide knowledge in such a way that it sustains, nourishes, elevates and strengthens him; which nurtures him with care, exercises him with wisdom, captivates him with prudence and shapes and elevates him without fatigue, and makes use of instruction as substantial food, the juices of which the child could absorb and assimilate and increase and enlarge at his own expense.

The Pious Schools, with the prince of philosophers, prefers an absolute ignorance to a scientific indigestion, and Bossuet thinks that late attainments must be preferred to premature monstrosities.

It does not believe that the young person is educated until his reason and his taste, his imagination and his judgment and his thought and his sensibility and his heart are educated, and in accordance with these convictions it fosters essential and industrial and mercantile and artistic and popular education.

Moreover, true to this flag, whose motto is “Pray for all and take up arms for none”, it has always considered a sacred duty, a second religion, enjoined upon him by the principles of the Gospel and the example of Jesus Christ, to give to children, without distinction of color, a national education that will foster in their hearts a love of the country and a respect for its laws, and inspire them to zeal for its interests and sacrifice for its glory.

But by combining these principles and their noble sentiments with social habits and manners, it will always confine the political education to love, respect, and obedience, and place the students in a literary, scientific, moral, and religious region so high, so peaceful, and so pure, that the sad echoes of political strife will not disturb their happiness; to make them men so distinguished by their character, so noble by their minds, so generous by their hearts, and so independent by the elevation of their principles, that when they present themselves in social Palenque, they will be just and forbearing, truth-loving and charitable, just and wisely liberal to all parties, because this is imposed by their teacher J. C. This is what his duties prescribe, this is what the general feeling demands, this is what society now requires, this is what the growing childhood demands, this is the ornament of their budding virtue, and this is the imperative duty of those who must foster it.

And since the education of the child extends from the most insignificant part of its clothing to the highest part of its soul and the most tender part of its spirit and the noblest part of its heart and the most important part of its human destiny and the greatest part of its eternal destiny, the Pious Schools makes use of various means whose connection is as intimate as the faculties it develops.

Through the physical units in due proportion, it preserves the health that the child needs for letters and sciences, the simplest subjects and the highest professions. Enchanted by the smile, the look, the color, the word, and the grace that shine so brightly on the child’s face and beautify his physiognomy; enchanted, I say, by the life that animates him, by the vigor that sustains him, and by the activity that carries him along, it spares neither means nor pains to preserve and complete the beauty and originality and purity and energy and vigor and agility of his body, the abode of his soul and the temple of love.

Through education, intelligent and not material discipline protects in time, consciously and not capriciously and casually, zealously and not repugnantly and routinely, the faith, paying attention to religious duties, maintaining piety, preventing debauchery, and caring the customs and the young people, keeping the beauty, sensibility and freshness, the clearest ideas, the highest views, the noblest feelings, with the clarity and charm, the grace and virtues of heaven, the liveliest spirit, the surest judgment, the most faithful memory and the happiest imagination.

It multiplies time by suppressing the frivolity of those who waste it, the caprice of those who squander it, and the laziness of those who lose it. It makes up for lost hours, revives decayed studies, calms troubled spirits, reforms corrupt habits, purifies crooked hearts, restrains overflowing passions. It gently threatens, categorically demands, and emphatically rebukes in the name of the Ordinance that prevails through its efforts, and with it order and goodness, religion and morals, letters and sciences flourish and are crowned with happy results.

Religion finally purifies the heart and the mind of youth, which becomes more receptive to the impressions of beauty, more docile to the teachings of truth, and more attentive to the voice of reason, which ascends on the wings of reason to the mountains of eternity, to see in the distance what the most eminent sages have not been able to behold.

Under the auspices of religion, it awakens in the young man an ardent passion for that serious and devoted life which in time produces moral earnestness and devotion to duty; it excites a love for labor and an intelligent taste for the arts and sciences, for industry and agriculture, for commerce and other specialties, an enthusiasm for all beautiful knowledge and noble progress. It tames, orders, and directs the passions, so that, instead of opposing the good, they may be the most useful instrument of the greatest undertakings. It teaches the child to win hearts, not so much by the grace of his manners, as by his simplicity and respect, his pure habits and generous docility, his enlightened faith and deep piety. It establishes between the master and the disciple those sweet and strong bonds which are never broken, those memories of sacrifice and appreciation, of affection and respect, which are the sweetest rewards to the master and the most pleasing impressions on the heart of the disciple.

Yes, gentlemen, just as religion makes use of the most wonderful incense, and the most sublime temples, and the most solemn assemblies, and the most sublime hymns, and the most pathetic melodies, and the most precious ornaments, and the most serious outward appointments, to nourish in the depths of souls all the virtues which inspire piety and love, to bring before them the sublime sacrifice of the altar, and to make them more receptive to the adoration and acknowledgment of boundless submission, which they owe to the Supreme Moderator, my Pious institute avails itself of the preservative and consoling aroma of virtue, to develop the faculties and ennoble the feelings of the child, to enlighten his intelligence and direct his will, to form his conscience and confirm his character, to strengthen his heart and lead his temporal life to the castles of eternal life.

Yes, religion, religion alone imbues and molds the heart of its alien children with all the strength of paternal love and all the sweetness of maternal love, with all the tenderness that fits the earth and all the purity that comes down from heaven, with the purer origin, the more upright aims and the higher goals.

Religion, and religion alone, teaches to form man gratuitously and to prepare him for the various social functions he has to fulfill on earth; to form gratuitously, by this general and particular education, the noble creature endowed with intelligence, reason, and a free will created for good; to form the intelligent man, the honest man, the man with his general capacities and qualities, such as society and religion require; the man with a strong and pure intelligence in a vigorous and healthy body; the man of reason, judgment, and taste, the man of heart and character; the man with an orderly imagination and an easy and clear utterance, with a firm will, such as God has created, J. C. redeemed, and the course of the world has perfected; the man of his century and his country in the true meaning of these two words; the educated man, the man of the Gospel, the true Christian.

This is the noblest, greatest and most sublime work in the world, for it embraces the whole man as God has granted him, as God has raised him to the highest of the fatherhood of souls. This is the divine work, it is the continued creation, it is the supreme mission of the Pious School; a mission of the greatest interest and of vital importance for the dignity and happiness of the individual and the family, as well as of the whole of the society itself.

Yes… As long as there is an image of God in the world, the mission of the Pious Schools will be great and providential, sacred and divine. As long as there is an intelligence capable of knowledge and wisdom and truth and light, of imagination and memory and science and genius, the mission of my Institute will be beautiful, worthy and divine. Yes, as long as there is a heart, a conscience, a character, a human will on earth, it will be beautiful, worthy and divine to educate them in the love for what is true and honest, in the enthusiasm for what is noble and generous, in the holy passion for what is great and sublime.

As long as there is a human child on earth who is animated by that divine breath which has made him the king of creation and the immortal image of the living God, he must be educated in the knowledge and love of his high destiny and led back to the integrity, strength, fullness and power of his incomparable abilities.

As long as there is a man who, through science and the love of the visible and invisible, can be the center of creation for the beholder of heaven, it will be beautiful to teach him by what effort, by what studies, and by what intellectual, moral, and religious elevation he must overcome all that God subjects to his gaze and the investigations of his intelligence. It will be good, it will be worthy, it will be divine to teach him by what sciences he can penetrate, from the imperceptible point he occupies on earth to the limits of his kingdom, to investigate the most sublime mysteries of nature, to measure with certainty the immensity of heaven, penetrate the interior of the earth to steal its treasures and contemplate everything, from the flower of the valleys that will one day reveal its name and virtues to him, to the sun that measures the centuries and wanders blindly through the immensity of space.

As long as he finds on earth an image of the Most High, it will finally be beautiful, it will be worthy to teach them to rise to the supreme power of that genius through the noble union of knowledge with virtue, and of letters with wisdom, of science with faith, and of arts with religion, which rises to heaven and descends into the abysses, which judges the past centuries, which devours the unfathomable depths of the future, which breaks the beauty of the temporal and flies to join God in the glories of eternity.

Introduction to the book Analysis of the public waters of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, written by Faustino Míguez. 1872

From the first moments of my arrival in Sanlúcar I heard the variety and medicinal virtues of its waters praised not only by its neighbors, but also fervently celebrated by the multitude of foreigners who annually come to drink them. Since then, I conceived the project of its analysis, which I did not undertake immediately because I lacked the means required by the delicate and repeated procedures that are indispensable to achieve it.

The requests of respectable people, especially those of the Archpriest of the same town and of Mr. Joaquín Hontoria, greatly encouraged my desires, at the same time that justified the delays that I gave them and I had to break on April 16th when I received a letter from the Town Council that, animated by a great zeal for the public good, which certainly honors it and is very accredited, by agreement of the 5th, begged me to undertake this task.

Thus honored, I hesitated for some time in the implementation of the means. I discarded the old ones as cumbersome and inaccurate. Among the modern ones, I preferred those which seemed to me to conform to the most obvious and tangible chemical principles.

Already provided by the Trustees of the Institute with everything necessary and even well advanced in the work, often interrupted by the rains, I stumbled upon the public opinion which, to tell the truth and supported by the ordinary resources of science, I believed unfounded. I say wrong: I even demonstrated it before some learned person, who honored me with his friendship, so palpably and apparently so incontestably, that he concluded by believing the same thing that I persuaded myself.

Respectful of the people and the testimony of the senses, I continued to use all the resources of science which I already believed to be in open opposition to them until, after many days and repeated trials, by a procedure that belongs to me, I was able to find what I was looking for and, pointing to it with my finger, to exclaim with joy: here it is!

From this moment on it was easy for me to unfold all the substances and some more than I suspected in the waters submitted to my analysis, to characterize their different combinations and to determine their quantities with an approximation that, purposely, I did not go beyond ten milligrams per liter.

An illustrious name that could remedy any defect in the vast and rugged field I cultivated, eminences like Wurts and Belgrand, Boutron and Boudet, Mille and Robinet; researchers of the caliber of Filhol, Cailletet, Viltard, Dupuís Bardy and Diendonne, would perhaps have stopped here, certain of not being branded as superficial by the solemn denial that their presumed detractors would be given by their profound and well-nourished works.

An unknown name, and scarce knowledge without mentioning other powerful reasons, could not offer me in Sanlúcar this guarantee that I demanded to the work, in order to prevent the objections that could come from more valuable premises.

Having made the first tests in carefully transported waters, I repeated them in their origin with special care, different times and on different occasions, always finding, as was consequent, enormous differences that suggested me important reflections and of immediate application to the economy and hygiene, to the industry and agriculture.

Yes, I have not undertaken this work as a puerile entertainment, however small it may seem: I am not unaware of the precious and preferential moments devoted to it by Priestley, Clarke and Wollaston in England, Girardin Boutron and Bouden in France, Voura, Casares and Muñoz de Luna in Spain; nor what has concerned the populous centers, both in our homeland and in other nations, the choice and supply of water; nor the numerous scientific commissions sent to surprise and analyze the sap of our planet, both in Asia and Africa, and in America and Oceania.

Consecrated to the teaching of the people, I could have no other object than their good, nor conceived the material prosperity of the same without the exact knowledge of its waters from the hygienic, agricultural and industrial point of view.

If it is true that some medicines produce in perfect health the ailments they cure, what should not the people be interested in the knowledge of both to prevent these and to apply those? And if the contrary is true, does it matter less to them by chance? Does not water become a true universal panacea? And can its knowledge be indifferent to the people? I am so far from thinking so, that I see it as one of the greatest popular needs.

And how can there be any doubt about the importance of the composition of water for agricultural and industrial applications? And how can there be any doubt about the contrary or favorable influence of the more or less selenite and calcareous waters on the effects of irrigation? How about the role they play in certain industries?

Only those who are unaware of the calcareous incrustations in the abductor pipes of certain waters which render them useless in a short time, and the harmful deposits that bicarbonates and sulphates, also calcareous, form in steam boilers, causing so many accidents and considerable losses, and the enormous quantity of soda and soap that certain waters destroy without any benefit to industry and the domestic economy, can be unaware of it.

Fish farming, although not very well known in this country, is developed in others who know how to take advantage of the curious works of Coste, Mine Elwars and Quatrefages and of the precious observations of M. Millet. Do they not take their indications in this industry from the composition of the waters? Do they not investigate with the greatest care the salts they contain? Do they not observe that a very small portion of sodium chloride completely destroys the eggs of shad and salmon, which therefore come up in their season to deposit them on the banks of rivers?

But why should we need to give reasons, nor adduce examples to commend to a cultured people a knowledge necessary to the seaman for his watering places and to the chief of health for the armies in campaign, to the physician to treat the diseases caused by certain waters and to the engineer to investigate the origin of the sources and the subway course of the rivers, the lands they cross and the tributaries they receive?

Once the first analysis was done, I was informed that there were others whose results were offered to me and I refused, to avoid being considered a plagiarist; since, the truth being the same and the substances in solution in the waters being the same, the results must also be the same.

I am about to assure you now, if the A.A. followed the same procedure; if not, it seems to me that there will be enormous differences, as well for the perfection of the method, as for the precision of the instruments, which, as far as the delicacy of the operations is concerned, I believe each one will have put his mind and all his senses in tension, as work of this kind demands.

For my part I naively confess that besides employing the most perfect that is known today; having prepared by myself, not only the reagents, but even the substances of which they are composed; assuring myself of their purity and exact proportion, testing them several times in artificial waters, and always having in sight of my operations a sort of pattern with which to compare them; I have repeated them several times and on several occasions I have tried to have them reproduced by other intelligent people and even by my students, always hiding my results from them, and not yet satisfied, I have taken the proportional average, in order to get as close as possible to an exact result. Moreover, whenever the result of the test was not in accordance with the calculation, I rectified it until I found one that was in perfect agreement with it. For this reason, I made three analyses of most of the waters; because at the end of the first one, I found a not negligible difference, according to the calculation, and I did not know to what to attribute it.

I compared again the reagents that had been sent to me from the same factory as the instruments and I found them in conformity with their type according to the rectifications that I had made for the first test.

Confident of my operations, I doubted the type that I analyzed with all the care required by the standard of such a delicate task and I almost blushed to find a difference of 7 degrees.

I proceeded to the formation of another with the possible precision and rectified by e. all the reagents of the analysis that I undertook again with the same result.

Once again, overwhelmed by the calculation, I replaced the volumetric analysis with the ponderal analysis whose infallible accuracy brought me to the end of this task continued with so many pitfalls.

Repeated questions and consultations on the medicinal virtues of some waters made me decide to undertake the arduous and for me daring study of their therapeutic action.

But how much fatigue in this untrodden path!

Without a guide to lead me, nor a rule to follow, I entrusted myself entirely to experience, tracing out a plan and undertaking a very heavy series of meticulous and delicate experiments which, thanks be to God, for whose glory I started it, compensated me with usury for the patience and the efforts they cost me, leading me from the knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of the substances that the waters have in dissolution to their therapeutic action.

Recognizing, however, my incompetence in such a delicate matter, in case there was a determination to take it out of the physical-chemical sphere in which I present it, I imposed on myself as a duty to submit it and shield it with the facultative sanction, requesting ex officio to the Town Council to deign to appoint a commission of doctors to review my indications and issue their report in writing, as another distinguished doctor, physicist and chemist at the same time had done in words in terms that I omit, for being excessively honorable for me.

I did not believe it was convenient to resume in only one table the contribution of soap, that is to say, the consumption of this substance that their different waters impose on Sanlúcar in order that their analysis would be more important; also I omit purposely the data referring to the consumption of fuel, which I studied at the same time, because they do not all use the same, which I have used, nor in homes of the same class. However, let it be known in passing, that taking distilled water as the type and even using all the cheapest fuel and the most economical burners, this contribution comes to be equal, if not exceeds that of soaps.

Nor do I include, for the sake of brevity and not to exceed the limits of the honorable Commission entrusted to me, the good results of some tests made at the insinuation of Don Joaquin Honoris to modify the waters of the wells converting them into a liquid suitable for washing.

But I must indicate the satisfactory solution of the rare problem of converting some special waters into sulfurous and sulfated waters with arbitrary richness of salts and properties.

If after all my work, whose best reward is to read it all, and the plan followed as it is outlined in it, it does not please my readers, it will always be a proof of the great desire I have to satisfy them, although not comparable to the superior products of those talents that made epoch in this science.

Humble disciple of those great blacksmiths of the majestic edifice of chemistry, of the true legislators of modern chemistry and of the founders of organic chemistry who hover like eagles in the sky, descend to earth to take matter, soaring again to their celestial mansion; modest imitator of the authors of that monument raised to the modern and colossal cataract of wealth and civilization of contemporary nations. I have had no other aspiration than the most disinterested, the aspiration to be useful to the people who have adopted me as theirs, following the indications and applying with discernment the laws formulated by those eminent men.

I do not doubt in view of the preceding considerations, that the neighborhood of Sanlúcar will give good reception to this first essay on the wealth and excellence of the waters of its privileged soil, wealth ignored or very little known, not only by strangers, but even by the children of the same population. And that following the example of their elders, always prone to encourage whatever tends to the increase of prosperity or to the greater grandeur of this remarkable city, will pay with usury my efforts to patent to all the salubrious springs that come out from its bosom, benevolently accepting this production of my genius. Something small for its merit, great for my affection to the same town, which has impelled me to publish it, not without overcoming the powerful obstacles that, when thinking of carrying it out, presented themselves to my mind, in the intimate conviction of my scarce worth for an enterprise of such transcendence.

Father Faustino’s advices. 1922

May He bless us all.

Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess:

On many occasions I have thought of speaking to you to tell the state of my mind. For reasons that have already passed, I refrained from doing so, or because I was not sure of the occasion. Since I now believe that I have one foot on the platform and the other on the running board of the train of afterlife, it seems to me that I would offend you if I remained silent.

If it is reprehensible to speak at the wrong time, it seems no less reprehensible to give an account to God the next moment of the burden he has laid upon me in regard to you.

God knows how many times I have been pushed to the brink of the abyss; I cannot remember, nor do I want to. Several times I was so whipped that, although I was sure of the opposite, I doubted whether I was fulfilling the will of God to continue to lead you as I had been commanded. But now, praise be to God, I know that I was not mistaken in continuing what I had begun, when the Lord, through his Vicar on earth, has recognized it as good and useful for the Holy Church.

The hell used everything for having drowned your Congregation in its cradle. How many means it has used to ruin all its projects! And the most expensive thing is how many and which people have accompanied it in its task! But it is written: God does what he wills, and no one triumphs over him, blessed be He now and forever!…

Now, my Daughters, God’s favors demand a correspondence that is all the greater, the greater the number of these benefactions, and can you even imagine that? No. By placing these Constitutions in your hands today, approved by his Vicar on earth as an infallible rule for religious perfection and the Christian life, he is saying to you through them what one of his predecessors said to my Holy Father when he gave him his: “Give me one that fulfills them faithfully and exactly to the end, and I will place them on the altars.”

Yes, my Daughters, this is your code by which you will be judged at the tribunal of God if you do not keep it with the utmost exactness to human frailty. It will do you no good, even if you perform more miracles than the thaumaturges. Never forget that you are to give an account not only of the general duties of Christianity, but also of each of the particular duties contained in these Constitutions.

Take courage, do not fear. The generosity which led you to renounce the world and consecrate yourself body and soul to your divine Spouse cannot overcome his generosity in giving it to yourself as a reward, not only in this life, but for all eternity, if you fulfill to the end what you promised then.

God forbid that I should compare the goods and pleasures you have renounced with the unspeakable joys with which the Lord floods the souls in which he reigns and lives, and burns them up with his love. Less than the mud of the earth compared to the sun and the stars of heaven are all the goods and pleasures enjoyed by those who give themselves to God and are intoxicated by his love. Not even the souls who have the joy of experiencing this can explain it. It would be bold of me to even say so.

But, my Daughters, always remember that the absolute renunciation you made in your time, of everything in the world and the total surrender of your being to the Divine Spouse caused great pain to the enemy, who set out from that moment to put you all snare and to set all the tricks the Lord allows him to try to falsify your fidelity and at least diminish your sacrifice.

The enemy knows very well that the heavenly Spouse is very jealous and does not allow participation in the sacrifice offered; therefore, he does not demand the whole but a small part, already counting on the rest of the rejection. Be courageous, for if he can do much, you can do it all the more, for you have the grace of God, who is almighty, and the protection of your loving Mother, the Divine Shepherdess, who is powerful. And do not plead your weakness, that you are of the same nature as the saints who did so many good and wonderful things on earth and now enjoy so much glory in heaven as a reward, although many of them were weak and suffered unspeakable things during their lives!

If you add that they were much braver than you, I will tell you that because they loved God very much. Imitate them and you will also see that courage grows with love and that every excuse is a fatal consequence of self-love and a bastard difficulty that hinders every good intention.

We can all love, and he who loves more can love more, and since love conquers all, if you love God very much … what can you not do for your sanctification, for the honor of your Pious Institute, for the education of your students, for the good of society and the glory of God?

Do not forget that what is due and possible is a fault of omission for which God must call you to account.

You will achieve your sanctification by loving and suffering; by keeping the commandments; by loving God unceasingly, like the blessed in heaven; by always walking in his presence so as not to offend him; by striving to fulfill his most holy will in everything, and to do even the most insignificant things for his love and glory, knowing that his command always implies the certainty of being able to fulfill it.

You will honor your Institute by your conduct, fulfilling its aims, each according to her way and according to her strength, always looking to God, like the angels; to know the most Holy will and to put it into practice; with no other impulse than his love; no other aim than to please him; no other aspiration than to acquire all the virtues, and above all the deepest humility and modesty, which are so proper to a Daughter of the Divine Shepherdess.

You will educate your pupils well, imitating with them the behavior of the guardian angel of each one and appreciating their value for the care that God has for them, giving them a prince of his court as educator and guardian who will assist and guide them throughout their lives.

The angel, who is called a guardian because of his mission, cannot but love and respect the one whom the Lord has ransomed with his precious blood. The Daughter of the Divine Shepherdess, not less admired by the dignity of the pupil whom the Lord will entrust to her and who has such a guardian, she must love and respect her at the same time.

The angel, who does not cease to see, love and rejoice in God, does not for a moment neglect the task entrusted to him in favor of his pupil. The teacher must behave in the same way.

Whether she is docile or stubborn, grateful or ungrateful, the angel does not fail to guide his pupil and bring her back to the right path when she strays from it. This is what the teacher worthy of such a name should do to her pupils.

The angel’s only ambition is to protect his pupil from all evil and to provide her with all good. And nothing else should be the endeavor of every Daughter of the Divine Shepherdess, who prides herself as such, to constantly imitate with her pupils this noble and maternal affection of every heavenly prince for his pupil.

What heart, however hard it may be, does not become maternal when it sees a work so apparently humble and yet so sublime for God?

And what benefit will you not be able to render to the society? which is composed of families that are generally what the mothers of yesterday and the mothers of tomorrow, what the girls of to-day are; imagine how much or little good or ill your conduct and education may affect the future society and the account you will have to give of it

It would be a shame for you, who have just been forever associated with the evangelical mission of the Church and placed, as it were, in the limelight, so that with the fragrance of your virtues and the greatest zeal for the salvation of souls, you may try to draw as many as possible into the bosom of the Blessed Mother. Glory to whom glory is due. How would you like to be recognized as Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess and Coredemptrix of souls? The Institute must be for you an antechamber of Heaven, where you all serve, love and praise God unceasingly, remembering that the Lord does not reward the brightness of works; He considers it insignificant. But the intention and the love with which they are done. It is not the one who can do the most who deserves the most, but the one who loves the most and does what she can.

The task which Divine Providence has given to every guardian angel for his pupil and to the teacher for her pupils, the same task has been given to every superior in regard to her subjects. From them she must demand the same account as for her own, if she does not treat them like a loving mother and lead them on the way of salvation by the attraction of their irreproachable behavior and perfect observance.

To the Mistress of novices; that they do not enter perfect, but in order to attain religious perfection, which they will only attain with a complete self-denial and an absolute renunciation of the world; a task which requires a force of will, a long and uninterrupted series of contrary actions, which not all will bear with. This is manifested in the fact that, if they were called, they would be neither chosen nor suitable for the Institute.

As the enemy works so much and without ceasing, the superiors will not unfrequently have to take out the impulses of the badly uprooted shoots of the novitiate by exercising persuasion and charity in all their subjects, and, if that is not sufficient in some, by applying the principles of government written and approved for that purpose.

Finally, if God forbid that a gangrenous limb should appear in the institute, apply a cautery at once, and if that does not help, amputate it as soon as possible, lest it infect the body, which is more important than the limb.

Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess:

As I bid you all farewell, I pray for the passion and death of our Savior and for the sorrows and loneliness of his mother, and your mother who:

1. May your sisterhood be unchanging and your love mutual in SS. CC.

2. May your observance be so exact that your institute need never be reformed.

3. Imitate the virtues of your Blessed Mother so much that she will never disdain to recognize you as her beloved Daughters.

4. By your most humble behavior, you will reinforce the imponderable signs of sisters and wives of Jesus Christ.

5. Out of compassion for your useless servant, implore your divine spouse to forgive him his sins and you, out of charity, his faults.

6. And be as he wants and desires to see you in heaven, and bless you in the name of the Lord, who 37 years ago made your Director the Ultranonagenarian, who signs in Getafe on October 28, 1922.

Acronyms

DENES: Diccionario Enciclopédico Escolapio, Salamanca 1983.

DVH: Decree of Heroic Virtues. 1992.

Ep: Pigretti, Mª Celia: Letters of the Servant of God Faustino Míguez, Madrid 1985.

FMS: López, Salvador: Faustino Míguez Sch.P. Founder of the Religiosas Calasancias, Salamanca 1988.

HPF: Del Álamo, Anselmo: Habla el P. Fundador, Madrid 1984.

MMA: Memoirs M. Angeles González, typewritten.

MSC: Míguez, Faustino: Junio o mes del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, Madrid 1904.

PE: Pláticas espirituales del P. Faustino Míguez, Madrid 1984.

PSV: Vilá Palá, Caludio: Documents presented for the Positio Super Virtutibus, Rome 1984.

Summarium: Summarium Super Dubio, Proc-ord. Matriten.

TE: Testamento Espiritual de nuestro Padre Fundador y otros contenidos, Madrid 1979.

Presentation

Who is Faustino Míguez?

A life that springs from the embers of love

A response to God from the surrender to the child and the youth: Piarist-priest

A response to God from the perspective of the Gospel to “suffering humanity”: researcher and scientist

A response to God from the evangelical gaze of the marginalized woman: founder of a new religious congregation

A life on the way to God

A path of holiness

ANNEXES

Pedagogical Discourse delivered by Fr. Faustino in Celanova (Orense)

Introduction to the book Analysis of the public waters of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, written by Faustino Míguez. 1872

Father Faustino’s advices. 1922

Acronyms

Table of Contents

Presentation

Who is Faustino Míguez?

A life that springs from the embers of love

A response to God from the surrender to the child and the youth: Piarist-priest

A response to God from the perspective of the Gospel to “suffering humanity”: researcher and scientist

A response to God from the evangelical gaze of the marginalized woman: founder of a new religious congregation

A life on the way to God

A path of holiness

ANNEXES

Pedagogical Discourse delivered by Fr. Faustino in Celanova (Orense)

Introduction to the book Analysis of the public waters of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, written by Faustino Míguez. 1872

Father Faustino’s advices. 1922

Acronyms