Pope Leo's fellow Augustinian brothers look forward to papacy marked by unity and focus on Jesus

GENAZZANO – A caller photograph of Leo XIV stands by frescoes representing past papal visits to a Virgin Mary icon successful the Sanctuary of Our Mother of Good Counsel, commemorating wherever he prayed 2 days aft being elected pope.

But the caller pontiff is inactive “Father Bob” to the fistful of Augustinian friars who service successful the basilica successful a hilltop medieval colony — and the tight-knit assemblage of Augustinians worldwide. They knew Leo erstwhile helium was their planetary leader, seminary teacher oregon simply chap member successful achromatic habits with heavy belts and ample hooded capes.

“With Father Robert, past Very Rev. Prior General, we person had to alteration the names, but Father Bob … we recognize the idiosyncratic hasn’t changed astatine all, it’s inactive him,” said the Rev. Alberto Giovannetti, 78. He was calved successful Genazzano successful the wooded hills extracurricular Rome and entered the seminary astatine property 11.

He remembers a time successful 2001 erstwhile helium was struggling with the work of a caller presumption and then-Prior General Prevost comforted him.

“He gave maine courage, ‘Stay calm, the little capable you feel, the much you’re acceptable for it,’ that was the meaning,” Giovannetti said. “I deliberation it’s what’s guiding him present arsenic well, that existent humbleness that doesn’t marque you consciousness weak, but alternatively makes you consciousness not alone.”

St. Augustine and brotherly leadership

It’s a benignant of brotherly enactment that was important to St. Augustine, who inspired the bid that’s recovered itself successful an antithetic spotlight ever since Leo’s archetypal nationalist blessing from St. Peter’s Basilica.

“He resolutely affirmed, ‘I’m a lad of Augustine, I’m Augustinian,’ and this filled america each with pride. We’re feeling similar the pope’s friars,” said the Rev. Pasquale Cormio, rector of Rome’s Basilica of St. Augustine.

Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, was a Jesuit who took the sanction of the founder of the Franciscans. The Jesuit bid is wide known for its scholarly star-power, portion the Franciscans entreaty to galore due to the fact that of the order's down-to-earth charity.

The Augustinian bid is simply a spot of a paradox — it remains arsenic unassuming arsenic erstwhile it was archetypal organized successful the mid-13th period arsenic a national of mendicant orders, yet traces its origins to 1 of the astir influential thinkers successful Christian and Western culture.

And present the friars are expecting that “Father Bob” volition bring immoderate of St. Augustine’s spiritual trademarks to the wider church.

Augustinian spirituality

“Augustinian spirituality is founded connected these words of St. Augustine — a azygous heart, a azygous psyche oriented toward God, that is to say, toward unity,” said the Rev. Lizardo Estrada, who was a pupil of Leo’s successful seminary. “That’s wherefore you tin sum it up successful 4 words, I’d accidental — community, interiority, foundation and obedience.”

For Augustinians, the instauration of a godly beingness is seeking information with the assistance of Scriptures and sacraments, uncovering it arsenic God’s beingness wrong one’s bosom — the “interiority” — and past taking that cognition outward to assistance others.

“You can’t adore the Lord each day, commune each day, and not find God successful the vulnerable, successful the humble, successful those moving the fields, successful the Amazonian peoples,” said Estrada, who is caput wide of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Conference. “You can't cognize God wrong you, person that knowledge, and enactment put.”

The bid has surely been connected a travel — portion of St. Augustine’s enduring entreaty is that helium was a “seeker” who introduced the conception of introspection arsenic a mode to happiness. Born successful what contiguous is Algeria successful the 4th century, helium embraced his mother's Christian religion during travels successful Italy and went connected to constitute immoderate of history’s pivotal spiritual and philosophical treatises.

His answers to perennial questions specified arsenic escaped volition versus predestination, existent religion versus heresy, adjacent issues addressing leadership, sex and sexuality proceed to pass Western civilization today, said Colleen Mitchell, a student with Villanova University’s Augustinian Institute.

The Augustinians since the Middle Ages

As some antheral and pistillate monastic communities started pursuing him, St. Augustine wrote the basics of a “rule” oregon the charter for an order, which was yet assigned immoderate 8 centuries aboriginal by the pope to medieval hermits successful Tuscany to signifier a azygous union.

Today, the bid of immoderate 3,000 friars is progressive successful 50 countries, with universities similar Villanova successful Pennsylvania and immoderate 150,000 children enrolled successful Augustinian schools.

They run missions crossed Africa, are increasing successful Asia, and tally historical and artwork-filled churches crossed Europe, including Santo Spirito successful Florence — for which a young Michelangelo sculpted a crucifix arsenic a thank-you acquisition since the friars had allowed him entree to their infirmary to larn anatomy, said the anterior general, the Rev. Alejandro Moral.

“The hunt for information is precise important due to the fact that arsenic St. Augustine enactment it, information is not yours oregon mine, it’s ours. And we person to prosecute successful dialog to find that information and, erstwhile we person recovered it, locomotion together, due to the fact that we some privation to travel truth,” Moral told The Associated Press from the Augustinians’ office successful Rome.

A member pope

The large, unpretentious analyzable is adjacent to the spectacular colonnade that encircles St. Peter’s Square. Jubilant friars huddled astatine the windows cheering erstwhile Leo was announced arsenic pope.

A fewer days later, the pope joined them for a astonishment luncheon and the day solemnisation of a brother, showing the attraction to fraternity that is an Augustinian constituent of pride.

“He puts you astatine ease, helium has this mode of being adjacent that … ever struck maine adjacent erstwhile helium was anterior general, and he’s kept up that benignant arsenic cardinal and present arsenic pope,” said the Rev. Gabriele Pedicino, the provincial for Italy.

He added that uncovering unity successful diverseness is different pillar of Augustinian thought that helium expects Leo volition promote.

“The diverseness among brothers — I deliberation that the pope volition labour truthful that progressively wrong and extracurricular the church, we tin admit the other, the different, not arsenic a danger, not arsenic an enemy, but arsenic idiosyncratic to love, idiosyncratic who makes our beingness richer and much beautiful,” Pedicino said.

Various friars recovered inspiration successful the pope’s motto, “in illo uno unum” — Latin for “in the 1 Christ, we are one” and derived from St. Augustine’s sermons astir Christian unity.

He lived done times of division. A millennium aboriginal a erstwhile Augustinian, Martin Luther, broke with Catholicism and launched the Protestant Reformation.

As today’s Catholic Church besides struggles with polarization, reestablishing a halfway unity centered successful Jesus is simply a connection that resonates widely.

“It’s not similar we’re amended than anybody else, we’re each the same, and erstwhile we prosecute successful dialogue, we request to recognize that we request to greatly respect the other,” Moral said. “I judge that this is cardinal to our ngo — to listen, to respect, and to love. Pope Leo has this straightforward simplicity.”

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