Rev. Robert Hagan:
It’s a really good point. We are trained in the foundation of Augustinian spirituality and theology.
Augustine was an incredible writer and preacher and rhetorician. He — a core value for St. Augustine was friendship. He believed that we encounter and discover the presence of God in and through one another. And so what you find in Pope Leo XIV, as smart as he is, he’s also a very much a people person who is approachable, is warm and has a real passion for the plight of the poor.
As you know, he served for 10 years in our missions in Peru. And so there’s a certain love and empathy and compassion for the worker, for the laborer. For Augustine, the heart has to engage the mind. It’s not enough just to know the law or to know your faith, but to put it into practice and let your love for God be expressed through your love for your fellow brothers and sisters.
So I think that’s a foundation, a spirituality, a way of living as an Augustinian religious that he will just carry on now in his role as the Holy Father.
