AGOSTINIAN RECOLLETTE. — In the sixteenth century, while among the Augustinians of Spain that reform was beginning which gave rise to the Order of the Recollects (v.) of s. Augustine, the Augustinian nuns likewise felt the need for a more austere and rigorous life. The first monastery of the R. was founded in Madrid in 1589 by blessed Alfonso di Orozco. Blessed Giovanni de Ribera, archbishop of Valencia, was also an active supporter of the reform; in 1597 he opened at Alcoy a monastery for Augustinians of stricter observance. Another and more energetic promoter of the reform was the venerable Marianna di s. Giuseppe, who, with the assistance of Fr. Antollinez, laid solid foundations for a more restricted way of life in the monastery of Eibar. From these three centres the R. soon spread throughout Spain, and today their houses number about forty. They depend on the local bishops.
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