Recogimiento

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Recogimiento, meaning recollection prayer, was a school of Christian mystical prayer in the Spanish Golden Age. It focused on private, silent prayer to build a steady focus on God. It began around the early 1500s, became popular in the 1520s, and lasted until about the mid-1600s. It likely started in Franciscan monasteries, possibly La Salceda or San Pedro de Arlanza, and then spread quickly to Europe and the Americas. It influenced figures such as Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, and John of the Cross, and its early guiding books included Bernardino de Laredo's Subida del Monte Sión and Francisco de Osuna's Third Alphabet.