Anniversaries are wonderful times to reflect and remember where we have been and to look forward to what lies ahead. On May 8, 2025, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A., was elected through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to serve as the 267th pope for our universal church. It was no small coincidence that this would take place for this self-proclaimed “son of Augustine” on the feast of Our Lady of Grace. St. Augustine, among other things, is known as the Doctor of Grace. For Augustinians in the United States, who first arrived from Ireland in the late 18th century, May 8 would have additional significance. It is also the anniversary of the burning of St. Augustine Church in Philadelphia in 1884, part of the nativist Know Nothing Party riots opposing Catholic immigrants. Yet out of the ashes came the first Augustinian successor to St. Peter, and the first pope from the United States: Pope Leo XIV.

Augustinians around the world felt a combination of surprise, awe, humility and pride that this gifted priest would be called to this servant leadership position for our church and our world. Immediately, questions came from every corner of the world regarding this Augustinian friar from the Midwest of the United States, who graduated from Villanova University, served for many years with the poorest of the poor in Peru, and held many leadership positions within the order. Many asked crucial questions like: Does he like deep dish pizza? Does he root for the Cubs or the White Sox? However, it was not long after the white smoke cleared that a deeper inquiry began: How will he lead? What values are important to him? How will his Augustinian roots and foundation affect the papacy and the global church?

One does not have to look very far to see how his Augustinian foundation is seasoning Pope Leo’s messaging, audiences, meetings, homilies and approach to the challenging issues facing our church and our world. Take a deeper dive into the life of St. Augustine and you will discover a man who lived from 354 to 430 A.D., who was a sinner before he was a saint. He was supported by friends and family, especially his mother, Monica, who never gave up on her son. Augustine was extremely intelligent and for years was swept up in the distractions of the world that can steal our focus and our purpose. Tormented by his constant restlessness and search for peace, he pleaded with God to have mercy on him and to show him the way. Shortly after his conversion experience, Augustine began to live in community where friars would spend time focused on prayer, service to others, and growing in their relationship with God and one another.

He established a practical guide for living a monastic life, The Rule of St. Augustine. The Rule is the oldest monastic rule focusing on the virtues of poverty, chastity and obedience. This emphasis on the common good for all people centers on the scriptural command to love God and neighbor, not as something that is forced, but rather freely chosen. The Rule of St. Augustine also establishes the purpose and basis of common life: “Before all else love God and your neighbor because these are the chief commandments given to us.” The Rule and Augustinian spirituality emphasize such core values as prayer, community, friendship, contemplation and action, service, missionary spirit, solidarity with the poor, listening, effective communication, forgiveness, reconciliation and peacemaking.

For an Augustinian, The Rule of St. Augustine is a way of life, a fundamental GPS for good living and witnessing to the Gospel. Pope Leo not only pledged his life to living this Rule, but has spent much of his life teaching students, parishioners and countless others to do the same. It is exciting and inspiring to see glimpses of that core belief system manifesting itself in his leadership style, challenging the communicators of our age to be truth-tellers and calling world leaders to be peacemakers and to be mindful of the poor and disenfranchised.

As we have witnessed, Leo is unafraid to enter the tensions around immigration and, as a missionary, reminds us that we all are “brothers and sisters in need of compassion.” He echoes St. Augustine, who encouraged his congregation facing hardship when he preached: “The times are troublesome—change human beings, and the times will be changed.” Leo will help to shepherd us through the new age of artificial intelligence, relying on the Holy Spirit, good counsel and the “teacher within,” who calls us to remember that just because we can do something does not mean that we ought to, and to remember that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and at all times to treat one another with dignity and respect.

One of the observations that has been made by those who have known Leo for many years is how seamlessly he seems to have assumed the role of universal shepherd and all the many responsibilities and burdens that go along with it. There is no pope school, no papal internship, and yet he speaks clearly and calmly. He prays, sings, preaches and hosts people with a certain humble grace that Augustine would refer to as “interiority.” This internal grace comes from God and appears to be divinely bestowed upon him for all of us.

Father Prevost wrote his academic dissertation on the role of the prior, which is a core leadership position held in the order. The chapter on governance and obedience in the Rule has much to say regarding the exercise of leadership and clearly has now shaped Leo’s leadership style. It reads: 

The Superior for his part, must not think himself fortunate in his exercise of authority but in his role as serving you in love. In your eyes he shall hold the first place among you by dignity of his office, but in fear before God, he shall be as the least among you…. Let him admonish the unruly, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, and be patient towards all (1 Thes 5:14).… He should strive to be loved by you rather than feared, ever mindful that he must give an account of you to God.

May Leo continue to do just that.

Happy anniversary, Pope Leo XIV! May God bless you with the grace, wisdom, strength and humility to help us all find rest for our restless hearts. As we move through these challenging and uncertain times, with values that never go out of style, may this good shepherd guide us all along the road to peace.

Robert P. Hagan, O.S.A., is the 41st Prior Provincial at the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova.