Before the Declaration of Independence was boldly signed in 1776, before pilgrims feasted at what became popularly regarded as the “First Thanksgiving” in 1621, there was St. Augustine, Florida.
St. Augustine
Pope Leo XIV arrived April 21 in Equatorial Guinea, the fourth and final country of his 11-day apostolic journey in Africa, where the pope met the country’s longtime ruler and urged the country’s civil authorities to choose justice over power, quoting St. Augustine’s “City of God.”
Pope Leo XIV spoke to journalists aboard the papal plane on April 15 on the five-hour flight from Algeria to Cameroon, underlining St. Augustine’s enduring importance today, saying that the saint’s invitation “to search for God and to search for truth is something that is very much needed today.”
Pope Leo XIV shared some of his favorite spiritual reading recommendations on the papal flight to Algeria, pointing to a particular letter by St. Augustine that he said provides wonderful tips for how to deepen prayer.
Pope Leo XIV will travel to six countries over the next four months, including a 10-day tour of Africa and trips to Monaco and Spain, the Vatican announced Feb. 25.
Father Jay Buhman still remembers the elderly gentleman he encountered weekly, in the middle of the night during perpetual eucharistic adoration. They would greet each other as they switched shifts to pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and go on their way; but one day the man revealed that his daughter had left the Catholic Church.
Catholic legislators are called to enact laws that reflect love of God and love of neighbor, Pope Leo XIV told an international group of lawmakers.
In Pope Leo XIV’s first greeting after being introduced as pope May 8, he described himself as a “son of St. Augustine.”