By Vatican News
To mark the Solemnity of Saint Augustine, Pope Leo XIV sent a videomessage to the Augustinian Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova, in the United States, expressing his gratitude for the conferral of the Saint Augustine Medal.
In his message, the Pope recalled with affection that the local parish is dedicated to Saint Thomas of Villanova, the Augustinian friar and bishop remembered as “father of the poor.”
“To be recognised as an Augustinian,” he said, “is an honour held dearly. So much of who I am I owe to the spirit and the teachings of Saint Augustine. I am grateful to all of you for the many ways your lives exhibit a deep commitment to the values of veritas, unitas, caritas.”
Reflecting on the saint’s life, Pope Leo noted that Augustine’s journey “was full of trial and error, like our own lives.” Yet through grace, the prayers of his mother Monica, and the witness of the community around him, he discovered “the way to peace for his restless heart.”
The Pope underlined that Augustine’s witness calls every Christian to recognise their God-given gifts and to offer them “in loving service to God and to our neighbour.”
A long legacy of loving service
He then turned to the Augustinian presence in Philadelphia, home to one of the oldest Catholic communities in the United States, recalling the missionary zeal of Fathers Matthew Carr and John Rossiter in serving immigrants at the end of the 18th century. That same spirit, he said, “calls us today to carry on a legacy of loving service.”
“Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to love our neighbour,” the Pope stressed, urging all to look at one another with the eyes of Christ and to rediscover our identity “as sisters and brothers in Him.”
Quoting then Augustine’s words – “Do not have your heart in your ears, but your ears in your heart” – the Pope invited the Augustinian family to embrace a spirit of listening. “Before we speak, we must listen,” he said, adding that in a synodal Church, the call is to listen to the Holy Spirit, to one another, and especially to the voices of the poor.
He encouraged all to filter out the noise and division of the world in order to hear God’s loving voice, which alone can bring peace. “When we hear that reassuring voice,” he said, “we can share it with the world as we strive to become one in Him.”
Pope Leo concluded by entrusting the Augustinian family to the Virgin Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, praying that “God bless you all and bring peace to your restless hearts, and help you continue to build a community of love, one in mind and heart, intent upon God.” – Vatican News
