Re-Discover Saint Augustine Through Pope Leo XIV

Since Jesus’s Ascension into Heaven, few persons have contributed more to the explanation and development of the Christian Catholic faith than Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.  He is rightfully proclaimed as a Father of the Church and a Doctor of the Church.  His story of conversion is both inspiring and illustrative of how to seek the Trinitarian God.  His written collection of works is astounding with over 1,000 written works available today and possibly as many as 3,000 more works which have been lost to history.  

 
“This man of passion and faith, of the highest intelligence and tireless in his pastoral care, a great Saint and Doctor of the Church is often known, at least by hearsay, even by those who ignore Christianity or who are not familiar with it, because he left a very deep mark on the cultural life of the West and on the whole world,” Pope Benedict XVI said of Saint Augustine in his 9 January 2008 General Audience.  See https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080109.html  

 
Saint Augustine was born on 13 November 354 in Tagaste which at the time was part of the Roman Empire in North Africa.  His father Patricius was a pagan but his mother Monica was a devout Christian who was very influential in his life.  He studied rhetoric and also the Holy Scriptures in his search for truth and reason.  In his search, he fell for a time under the influence of the heretical Manicheans.  He also had a son out of a wedlock.  Providentially, he moved to Milan in Italy where he became acquainted with the local bishop, Saint Ambrose.  Saint Ambrose was able to show him the compatibility of faith in Christ and reason.  Thus, Saint Ambrose baptized him on 24 April 387.   Afterwards, Saint Augustine returned to Africa where he founded a small monastery to pursue contemplative life.  Divine Providence, however, was not content to keep him contained within a monastery.  He was ordained a priest in 391 and ordained as Bishop of Hippo four years later.  For the remainder of his life, Saint Augustine continued to learn about God and share his faith and knowledge.  Through preaching and writing, he instructed the faithful and combated the malignant heresies of the day: Manichaeism, Donatism and Pelagianism.   His Confessions is one of the greatest faith memoirs ever written.  His other important writings include The City of God and The Trinity.  He died on 28 August 430.

 
Two essential components of Augustinian thought and theology pertain to the synthesis of faith and reason:  crede ut intelligas (I believe in order to understand) and intellige ut credas (I understand, the better to believe).  You can find this further explained in Pope Benedict XVI’s General Audience of 30 January 2008 https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080130.html 

Robert F. Prevost (Pope Leo XIV) is the first American Pope and the first Augustinian to serve as Pope.  Not surprisingly, Robert F. Prevost has been heavily influenced by Saint Augustine.  From the very first moments of his Papacy, Pope Leo XIV has celebrated his Augustinian roots.  In his first message after being elected Pope, he said, “I am an Augustinian, a son of Saint Augustine, who once said, ‘With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.’ In this sense, all of us can journey together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us.”  See https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/messages/urbi/documents/20250508-prima-benedizione-urbietorbi.html  

 
So far, Pope Leo XIV has referenced and/or quoted Saint Augustine on three more significant occasions:  his Homily at his Inaugural Mass on 18 May 2025, his Homily for his Visit to the Tomb of Saint Paul on 20 May 2025 and his Homily at the Lateran Basilica on 25 May 2025 when he took possession of his cathedra as Bishop of Rome.

 
If we are to fully understand and appreciate this new Pope of ours, then we must understand and appreciate the importance of Saint Augustine to the Church and to our new Pope personally.   Fortunately, as he is already demonstrating, we can learn more about Saint Augustine by listening to what our new Pope has to say.