4 Footprints of St. Augustine in the spiritual life of Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV is not only the first pontiff of the Order of St. Augustine, but also deeply reflects in his spiritual life the traces of the Augustinian charism, according to several members of this religious order in Peru.

Next, four Augustinian traces that, according to Frailes and a bishop interviewed by ACI Press, will mark the Pontificate of Leo XIV.

1. Unity sign in a divided world

Fray Miguel Oblitas Guerrero, secretary of the Agustina province of Peru, considers that Pope León reflects from the beginning an Augustinian spirituality based on the unit.

“What Augustina marks is, on the one hand – and perhaps it is the main characteristic – to be signs of communion. (…) Agustín lived in a context where he had to dialogue with a divided church. (…) And I think that is going to enlighten the pontificate of Leo XIV.”

In his opinion, the heart of the New Pontiff’s teaching is “to generate communion, unity within the Church” and also be “testimony to generate peace in the world.”

For his part, Mons. Edinson Farfán, Bishop of Chiclayo, also stressed that communion will be key in the Pontificate of Leo XIV, following the teachings of St. Augustine: “As a good Augustine, she has a spirituality deeply rooted in interiority and communion, which, without a doubt, will always keep present in her heart.”

2. Dialogue and community search for truth

The truth, far from being an individual conquest, is a path that is traveled together. This was lived by St. Augustine and this is what Pope Leo XIV testifies. Already in May 2023 then Cardinal Robert Prevost I exhort: “We must be able to listen to each other (…) we must learn to truly listen to the Holy Spirit and the spirit of searching for the truth that lives in the Church.”

A year before being elected Pope, in August 2024then Cardinal Prevost recalled that the encounter with God is lived in community, as shown by the facts of the apostles and the experience of the first Christian communities “who listened to the teaching of the apostles, lived communion by starting the bread and prayed together.”

Fray Miguel Oblitas emphasizes that “Agustín always tried, through dialogue, finding the truth, seeking the truth in community. (…) Everything that means unity, communion, integrate, I think it will be part of the magisterium of the new Pontiff.”

Fray Luis Fernando Oblitas also, from the San Agustín de Chiclayo College, highlights this legacy: “A super important theme of our charism is the search for truth. (…) Finding a Pope who has the truth as a horizon, as a goal, will be very valuable and I consider that that will mark his pontificate.”

3. Cristocentrism

A characteristic that has cheered the Augustinian friars is the way Leo XIV focuses his message on the figure of Jesus, in the style of the Holy Holy. In his first speech, the Holy Father assured that the world needs the light of Christ: “Humanity needs Him as a bridge to be reached by God, by his love.”

Fray Luis Fernando, who was ordered by the then Bishop Robert Prevost in 2022, assured Aci Prensa that the Pope “is very Christian.” “He has spoken a lot about Christ in his first homily: Jesus, Jesus … I love that. Also as Agustín was, who was a lover of Jesus.”

Mons. Farfán coincides by saying that the Pope “will have Jesus Christ as the center and engine of the mission.”

And it emphasizes that the interiority of Leo XIV is not empty, but deeply Christocentric: “He is the center, he is the engine, he is the one who invites us to put justice into practice, the truth. He knows very well that without Christ we cannot do anything.”

4. Simplicity and closeness as a lifestyle

For the Augustinians, the new Pontiff is not only a source of pride, but also a demanding mirror: “It is the first Augustinian Pope, and it is a pride, but at the same time it is a duty, a task,” admits Fray Luis Fernando.

“The issue of simplicity, closeness, walking together, are characteristics that we must reflect. Because they will tell me: ‘This is Augustine like the Pope, right? So I imagine that you are close too,” he adds.

From Granada, Fray Ángel Antonio García Cuadrado remembers with admiration today Pope Leo XIV highlighting “his simplicity, his closeness, the genuine interest for each person”.

In this sense, it evokes a phrase from San Agustín that then Mons. Robert Prevost frequently repeated: “The first care is the care of the other.”

“That always lived, as a religious, as a prior order. He manifested him with facts and with words that reached the heart. He was a simple, close and, at the same time, his words were never empty,” he concludes.