Récollets

Récollets, or the Order of the Recollects, were a Catholic mendicant religious order within the Augustinian family. They arose in the late 16th century as a reform movement aimed at restoring stricter observance of the Augustinian Rule, poverty, and apostolic preaching. The French origin of the movement was centered on a renewed life of contemplation and mission, and the name Récollets refers to their practice of recollection and reform.

Across the late 16th and 17th centuries, the Récollets established friaries in France and other parts of Europe, and they sent missionaries to Catholic communities in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. As part of the wider Catholic Reformation, they emphasized preaching, education, and parish ministry, often collaborating with or preceding other religious orders in newly evangelized areas.

Organizationally, the order was divided into provincial communities and governed by a general chapter, with members living in friaries and wearing the typical Augustinian habit. The Récollets contributed to the early establishment of Catholic structures in several colonial regions and served as a precondition for later missionary efforts in those areas.

The order faced suppression during the upheavals of the late 18th century and was dissolved in some regions, though reforms and reconstitutions occurred in others. Today the Récollets are remembered as an important reform movement within the Augustinian family, with a historical role in the spread of Catholic religious life and missions in Europe and beyond.