Augustinian Recollect Sisters

The Augustinian Recollect sisters were born in the late sixteenth century, when a chapter of the Order established that monasteries should be founded for those nuns who wished to lead a life of poverty and austerity. True reform, however, only came about in the early seventeenth century, when Sister Mariana de San José along with Father Agustín Antolínez, fixed the final rules which were to govern the everyday life of the Augustinian Recollects. Without a doubt, the most important monastery founded by Mother Mariana was that of the Encarnación, expressly desired by Queen Margaret of Habsburg, which served as a model of spirituality for the other convents founded afterwards.