What the spirituality of Saint Augustine teaches us of the new pope
The mark of Jesuit spirituality was read in the style of François. How has Augustinian spirituality shaped Léon XIV, who entered 22 years in the order of Saint-Augustin? The latter, born in the 13th century like other begging orders (Franciscan, Dominican and Carme), associates monastic uses (prayer, poverty, community life) with the preaching of the gospel. But above all, he claims to be of the impressive charisma of Saint Augustine (354-430), Berber philosopher who became bishop of Hippone (in current Algeria) after his conversion to Christianity.
By the way, this Augustinian anchoring brings Léon XIV closer to Benedict XVI: the German pope recognized in the giant of the 5th century “the most grandfather of the Latin Church”, the one who had the most marked (his) theology “.
Upon his moved blessing given to the people who filled Saint-Pierre place at the announcement of his election, Léon XIV presented himself as “a son of Saint Augustine”. This assumed filiation colors several passages from his speech. The primacy given to the ineffable meeting with a transcendent god, first. From the outset, the American pope names God and the peace of whom receives him. “Our heart is restless as long as it rests in you,” wrote Augustin, addressing God, at the opening of his famous Confessions.
“The greatest father in the Latin Church. »»
Benoît XVI Pope (2005-2013), died in 2022
The experience of the personal meeting of God, via Christ, is indeed at the heart of the most known work of the Son of Saint Monique, a flagship text of Western culture, written in “I”. Which undoubtedly makes it the first spiritual autobiography of history. During a catechesis on Saint Augustine, Benedict XVI had rented in the Confessions This “attention to spiritual life, to the mystery of” me “, to the mystery of God who hides behind the” me “”.
Search for the truth
Augustin, that his agitated life has long retained from welcoming the light that Christ gives, finely analyzed the human heart.
Robert Prevost, exposing in 2012 the spirituality of his order, noted the insight of this spiritual master, capable of communicating what he experienced in this most read book in the world. “Augustin talks about friendship, family, the importance of his mother, his father, human ambition, so many different aspects of human life. He then explains how these things helped him or not in his personal journey towards the discovery of God and what is really holy in life. »»
Before Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, Augustine was thus a master of discernment, and Léon XIV is located in this vein.
Theologian of phenomenal prolixity, the Doctor of the Church “was a researcher passionate about truth”, noted Benoît XVI in 2008. The Augustinian order honors this intellectual dimension of Christian life. Léon XIV was trained in Rome at Angelicum, the Faculty of Theology of the Dominicans, where he studied in particular the other great theologian of the Latin Church, Saint Thomas of Aquin.
In his first homily, the new pope quoted Saint Ignatius of Antioch, a father of the 2nd century. And the former patristic professor to recall that he already recognized the particular mission of the bishop of “the Church which is in Rome”.
Cultivate friendship
Robert Prevost underlined another significant trait of the Augustinian experience: friendship. All his life, Augustine wanted to live surrounded by friends; He thought by dialoguing. This attention paid to community life is sensitive in the experience of the former Augustinian prior general.
“As so-called” international “communities, we can be a prophetic presence that tells the world that it is possible to live together, to overcome differences, recognizing the value of different cultures and indicating the path that you have to take to walk together,” he said in 2012.
“Let us help each other to build bridges (…) by uniting us all to be a unique people”
Pope Leo XIV 267th Pope
Augustine extended to all humanity the thought of a unity in God. The word of Léon XIV at the Balcon de Saint-Pierre, insisting on “the bridges” to be established to form “a single people”, echoes it. Because unity does not come from above, it is to be forged: “Being a synodal church which knows how to listen to each is the means not only to live personally faith, but also to grow in a real Christian fraternity”, declared the cardinal prevost on September 30, 2023.