At 11.00 this morning, at the Augustinianum, the Holy Father Leo XIV met with the participants in the General Chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine.

The following is the text of the Pope’s address:

Text of the Holy Father

Dear brothers,

I am delighted to be here with you on the occasion of your General Chapter. I can say that I feel at home and that I too am participating inwardly, in a spirit of spiritual sharing, in what you are experiencing in these days. I thank the Prior General who has ended his service, and I greet the newly-elected Prior: a task as demanding as this requires all of our prayers, let us not forget!

The General Chapter is a valuable occasion to pray together and reflect on the gift received, on the current relevance of the charism and also on the challenges and issues confronting the community. While the various activities are carried out, celebrating the Chapter means listening to the Spirit, in a certain sense in analogy with what our father Augustine said, recalling the importance of the inner life in the journey of faith: “Do not go outside, come back into yourself. It is in the inner self that Truth dwells” (De vera religione, 39, 72).

On the other hand, the inner life is not a refuge from our personal and community responsibilities, from the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us in the Church and in the world, from urgent questions and problems. One comes back into oneself in order to then go out into the world even more motivated and enthusiastic in mission. To come back into ourselves renews spiritual and pastoral zeal: one returns to the wellspring of religious life and consecration, so as to be able to offer light to those the Lord places in our way. One rediscovers the relationship with the Lord and with the brothers of one’s own religious family, because from this communion of love we can draw inspiration and better face matters of community life and apostolic challenges.

In this context, after the extensive and shared reflection you have carried out over the years, you are now addressing some topics I would like to briefly recall.

First of all, a fundamental theme: vocations and initial formation. I like to remember Saint Augustine’s exhortation: “Love what you will be” (Sermon 216, 8). I find this to be a valuable insight, especially so as not to fall into the error of imagining religious formation as a set of rules to be observed or things to be done, or even as a ready-made garment to be worn passively. At the centre of everything, instead, is love. The Christian vocation, and the religious vocation in particular, is born only when one feels the attraction of something great, of a love that can nourish and satiate the heart. Therefore, our first concern should be that of helping, especially the young, to glimpse the beauty of the calling and to love what they could become by embracing their vocation. Vocation and formation are not pre-ordained realities: they are a spiritual adventure that involves the entire history of the person, and it is first and foremost an adventure of love with God.

The love that, as we know, Augustine placed at the centre of his spiritual quest, is a fundamental criterion also for the dimension of theological study and intellectual formation. In the knowledge of God it is never possible to reach Him with our reason alone and with a series of theoretical information; rather, it is a matter of letting oneself be in awe of his greatness, of questioning ourselves and the meaning of the things that happen to retrace the footsteps of the Creator, and above all of loving him and letting him be loved. To those who study, Augustine suggests generosity and humility, which indeed arise from love: the generosity to communicate one’s own research to others, so that it may benefit their faith; the humility not to fall to the vainglory of those who seek knowledge for its own sake, considering themselves superior to others for the fact of possessing it.

At the same time, the ineffable gift of divine charity is what we must look to if we want to live our community life and apostolic activity to the fullest, sharing our material good sas well as our human and spiritual ones. Let us remember the effectiveness of what is written in our Rule: “Just as you have your food from the one pantry, so, too, you are to receive your clothing from a single wardrobe” (Rule, 30). Let us remain faithful to evangelical poverty and ensure that it becomes the criterion for living all that we are and that we have, including our resources and structures, in the service of our apostolic mission.

Finally, let us not forget our missionary vocation. Starting from the first mission in 1533, Augustinians have proclaimed the Gospel in many parts of the world with passion and generosity, taking care of the local Christian communities, devoting themselves to education and taeching, spending themselves for the poor and carrying out social and charitable works. This missionary spirit must not be allowed to die out, because even today there is a great need for it. I urge you to revive it, remembering that the evangelizing mission to which we are all called demands the witness of a humble and simple joy, the readiness to serve, the sharing of the life of the people to whom we are sent.

Dear friends, I hope you will continue the work of the Chapter in fraternal joy, with a heart ready to welcome the suggestions of the Spirit. I pray for you, that the Lord’s charity may inspire your thoughts and your actions, making you apostles and witnesses of the Gospel in the world. May the Virgin Mary and Saint Augustine intercede, and may the Apostolic Blessing accompany you.