Pope Leo XIV is the first Pope from the Order of Saint Augustine, but the seventh from orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine.
He enjoyed a close association with the Order, even before joining them.
He completed his secondary studies at a minor seminary run by the Order of Saint Augustine however upon graduation in 1973, he chose to pursue a science degree.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics at the Augustinian founded Villanova University in 1977. Later that year, he decided to join the Order of Saint Augustine.
He took his first vows as an Augustinian in September 1978 and solemn vows in August 1981. He was ordained a priest for the Order of Saint Augustine by Archbishop Jean Jadot in Rome on 19 June 1982.
The Order of Saint Augustine was founded in 1244, bringing together several groups in the Tuscany region who were following the Rule of Saint Augustine.
The Rule of Saint Augustine is a document written by Saint Augustine of Hippo outlining rules for religious life lived in community and is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church.
Presently, the Order is one of the largest in the world, ministering in over 50 countries.
The friars (as members are called) live in monastic communities and serve the spiritual needs of the people who live around them. While the heart of their vocation is living in monastic community, they also run parishes, schools and universities.
The Augustinians are also noted missionaries and have played a key role in the history of Catholicism in Australia.
The first Augustinian came to the continent in 1838. His name was Father James Alypius Goold OSA and he would go on to be the first Bishop of Melbourne. Since then, the Augustinians have ministered around Australia, and helped to build up many areas of the Church particularly in Northern Queensland.
Many people in Broken Bay will be familiar with the work of the Augustinians. Since 1952, the Order has had pastoral responsibility for St Kieran’s, Manly Vale. They also run Saint Augustine’s College, Brookvale.
While Pope Leo XIV is the first Pope from the Order of Saint Augustine, he is not the first from the Augustinian tradition.
Other popes have belonged to orders which follow the Rule of Saint Augustine. These include four Canons Regular (Honorius II [1124–1130], Innocent II [1130–1143], Lucius II [1144–1145] and Adrian IV [1154–1159]), one Premonstratensian (Gregory VIII [1187] and one from the Confederation of Canons Regular of Saint Augustine (CRSA) (Eugene IV [1431–1447]).
Pope Leo XIV has held several senior leadership positions within the Order. He served as Provincial of the Augustinian Province of Chicago from 1999 until 2001, when he was elected Prior General of the Augustinians.
As Prior General, he was the head of the Order and its supreme authority.
Just as many people were eager to see how Pope Francis brought a strong Jesuit influence to the papacy, many will be interested in seeing what influence the Augustinian way of life has on Pope Leo XIV.