The prior of the Augustinians appreciate the proximity of Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV visited the Basilica of San Agustín in Rome on Monday for the first time since he was elected successor of San Pedro, the same place where he received the priestly order on June 19, 1982, to preside over the opening mass of the 188th General Chapter of the Order.

Visibly excited for the spiritual value of this temple – set in the heart of the city, a few meters from the emblematic Piazza Navona—, The Holy Father was received by the Rector of the Basilica, Fr. Pasquale Cormio, together with P. Alejandro Moral, Prior of the Order of St. Augustine, who has a deep friendship with the Pontiff.

Escorted by these two Augustinian brothers, the Holy Father went to the small chapel where the remains of Santa Monica, the mother of the Holy of Hippo and who prayed tirelessly for the conversion of his son.

On the knees, in front of the saint’s tomb, Pope Leo XIV remained silent for a few moments, before heading to the central altar to celebrate the Mass. In his close homily, he invited the Augustinians to work in unity, humility and listening.

“A brother who shares our way”

At the end of the ceremony, Fr. Alejandro Moral addressed a few words to the Holy Father, in which the thanks and expression of the fraternal union that unites the Bishop of Rome with the order of St. Augustine did not lack.

“His presence in the midst of us is a beautiful gift, an eloquent sign of the communion that unites us and the fraternity that sustains us,” said the Spanish priest before the pontiff, the Augustinian brothers, the contemplative nuns and the laity of the order.

Fr. Moral recalled that on May 8 “we raise our thanksgiving to God for his choice as Successor of St. Peter” and said that “today we want to renew that same thanks, recognizing in you not only the universal pastor, but also the brother who has shared our path, especially when he was a prior general, testifying close and delivery.”

For the prior of the Order, celebrating this encounter in the Basilica of San Agustín, near the mortal remains of Santa Monica, “it does everything even more significant”: “Here, the voice of our father, teacher and spiritual founder resonates, who reminds us of how the Church is the true mother that generates and nourishes her children in faith.”

He also stressed that, for almost eight centuries, the order, born by the initiative of the Apostolic Headquarters, “strives to be faithful and available at the service of the Church and the Pope.”

“Before you Holy Father, today we affirm this faithfulness with conviction, sure that only in communion can we fully live our evangelical vocation,” he added.

He also highlighted the variety of charisms of the order and said that, “far from causing division, enriches and builds the unity of the people of God.”

He then exalted the importance of communion, because “we are called to live as Agustín teaches us, with the soul and heart projected to God, testifying fraternity and synodality. In a world injured by divisions, we want to become one into the one that is unique.”

The Premost successor as a prior general did not want to finish his speech without appointing peace, remembering that Leo XIV “does not get tired of urging us not to yield to the logic of violence, but to guard in the heart the flame of love that makes universal fraternity possible.”

“His words,” he said to the Holy Father, “when he invites us not to resign ourselves to war, they are for us light and comfort, and help us become a seed of peace, hope and care of creation.”

“His presence encourages us to continue with confidence our way, he calls us a mission lived with humility and delivery, but also with courage and hope,” he said below.

Finally, he recalled that “the Gospel is always a source of joy and new life. Thus, we want our chapter to be a time in which the spirit renews in us fidelity and generosity.”

After expressing his thanks to the Pontiff for his proximity, both hugged, a gesture that symbolizes the friendship that unites them since their years of young seminarians at the Santa Monica International College, shortly before the Premost priestly ordination in 1982.