After one of the shortest conclaves in recent history, Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the 267th successor to Saint Peter. He took the name Leo XIV.
During his first address, the Holy Father briefly explained his spiritual background, saying,
“I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian. He said, ‘With you I am a Christian, for you a bishop.’ So may we all walk together towards that homeland that God has prepared for us.”
As we pray for the Holy Father, let us turn to the inspirational wisdom of his friend in heaven, Saint Augustine, Doctor of the Church:
“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” - Saint Augustine
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” - Saint Augustine
"To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him is the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement." - Saint Augustine
“God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.” - Saint Augustine
“Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.” - Saint Augustine
“The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.” - Saint Augustine
“There is something in humility which strangely exalts the heart.” - Saint Augustine
“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” - Saint Augustine
“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” - Saint Augustine
“If you believe what you like in the Gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” - Saint Augustine
“For you made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” - Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine of Hippo is a magnificent saint in the Catholic Church.
As a theologian and philosopher, he laid the framework for the doctrine of original sin and salvation. He is also known for his miraculous conversion, detailed in one of his most notable works, “Confessions,” among many other writings that largely impacted Western Christianity as we know it today.