GENAZZANO, Italy (AP) ā A new photo of stands by frescoes representing past papal visits to a Virgin Mary icon in the Sanctuary of Our Mother of Good Counsel, commemorating where two days after being elected pope.
But the new pontiff is still āFather Bobā to the handful of who serve in the basilica in a hilltop medieval village ā and the tight-knit community of Augustinians worldwide. They knew Leo when he was their global leader, seminary teacher or simply fellow brother in black habits with thick belts and large hooded capes.
āWith Father Robert, then Very Rev. Prior General, we have had to change the names, but Father Bob ā¦ we realize the person hasnāt changed at all, itās still him,ā said the Rev. Alberto Giovannetti, 78. He was born in Genazzano in the wooded hills outside Rome and entered the seminary at age 11.
He remembers a day in 2001 when he was struggling with the responsibility of a new position and then-Prior General Prevost comforted him.
āHe gave me courage, āStay calm, the less adequate you feel, the more youāre fit for it,ā that was the meaning,ā Giovannetti said. āI think itās whatās guiding him now as well, that real humbleness that doesnāt make you feel weak, but rather makes you feel not alone.ā
St. Augustine and brotherly leadership
Itās a style of brotherly leadership that was crucial to St. Augustine, who inspired the order thatās found itself in an unusual spotlight ever since Leoās first public blessing from .
āHe resolutely affirmed, āIām a son of Augustine, Iām Augustinian,ā and this filled us all with pride. Weāre feeling like the popeās friars,ā said the Rev. Pasquale Cormio, rector of Romeās Basilica of St. Augustine.
Leoās predecessor, , was a who took the name of the . The Jesuit order is widely known for its scholarly star-power, while the Franciscans appeal to many because of the order's down-to-earth charity.
The Augustinian order is a bit of a paradox ā it remains as unassuming as when it was first organized in the mid-13th century as a union of mendicant orders, yet traces its origins to one of the most influential thinkers in Christian and Western culture.
And now the friars are expecting that āFather Bobā will bring some of St. Augustineās spiritual trademarks to the wider church.
Augustinian spirituality
āAugustinian spirituality is founded on these words of St. Augustine ā a single heart, a single soul oriented toward God, that is to say, toward unity,ā said the Rev. Lizardo Estrada, who was a student of Leoās in seminary. āThatās why you can sum it up in four words, Iād say ā community, interiority, charity and obedience.ā
For Augustinians, the foundation of a godly life is seeking truth with the help of Scriptures and sacraments, finding it as Godās presence inside oneās heart ā the āinteriorityā ā and then taking that knowledge outward to help others.
āYou canāt adore the Lord every day, pray every day, and not find God in the vulnerable, in the humble, in those working the fields, in the Amazonian peoples,ā said Estrada, who is secretary general of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Conference. āYou can't know God inside you, have that knowledge, and stay put.ā
The order has certainly been on a journey ā part of St. Augustineās enduring appeal is that he was a āseekerā who introduced the concept of introspection as a way to happiness. Born in what today is Algeria in the 4th century, he embraced his mother's Christian faith during travels in Italy and went on to write some of historyās pivotal spiritual and philosophical treatises.
His answers to perennial questions such as free will versus predestination, true faith versus heresy, even issues addressing leadership, gender and sexuality continue to inform Western culture today, said Colleen Mitchell, a scholar with Villanova Universityās Augustinian Institute.
The Augustinians since the Middle Ages
As both male and female monastic communities started following him, St. Augustine wrote the basics of a āruleā or the charter for an order, which was eventually assigned some eight centuries later by the pope to medieval hermits in Tuscany to form a single union.
Today, the order of some 3,000 friars is active in 50 countries, with universities like Villanova in Pennsylvania and some 150,000 children enrolled in Augustinian schools.
They operate missions across Africa, are growing in Asia, and run historic and artwork-filled churches across Europe, including Santo Spirito in Florence ā for which a young Michelangelo sculpted a crucifix as a thank-you gift since the friars had allowed him access to their hospital to learn anatomy, said the prior general, the Rev. Alejandro Moral.
āThe search for truth is very important because as St. Augustine put it, truth is not yours or mine, itās ours. And we have to engage in dialogue to find that truth and, once we have found it, walk together, because we both want to follow truth,ā Moral told The Associated Press from the Augustiniansā headquarters in Rome.
A brother pope
The large, unpretentious complex is next to the spectacular colonnade that encircles St. Peterās Square. Jubilant friars huddled at the windows cheering when Leo was announced as pope.
A few days later, the pope joined them for a surprise lunch and the birthday celebration of a brother, showing the attention to fraternity that is an Augustinian point of pride.
āHe puts you at ease, he has this way of being near that ā¦ always struck me even when he was prior general, and heās kept up that style as cardinal and now as pope,ā said the Rev. Gabriele Pedicino, the provincial for Italy.
He added that finding unity in diversity is another pillar of Augustinian thought that he expects Leo will promote.
āThe diversity among brothers ā I think that the pope will labor so that increasingly inside and outside the church, we can recognize the other, the different, not as a danger, not as an enemy, but as someone to love, someone who makes our life richer and more beautiful,ā Pedicino said.
Various friars found inspiration in the popeās motto, āin illo uno unumā ā Latin for āin the one Christ, we are oneā and derived from St. Augustineās sermons about Christian unity.
He lived through times of division. A millennium later a former Augustinian, Martin Luther, broke with Catholicism and launched the Protestant Reformation.
As todayās Catholic Church also , reestablishing a core unity centered in Jesus is a message that resonates widely.
āItās not like weāre better than anybody else, weāre all the same, and when we engage in dialogue, we need to realize that we need to greatly respect the other,ā Moral said. āI believe that this is fundamental to our mission ā to listen, to respect, and to love. Pope Leo has this straightforward simplicity.ā
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APās with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Giovanna Dell'orto, The Associated Press
