Experience the warmth of a homecoming. This is how the Augustinian brothers of Leo XIV describe the Pope’s visit today to the general curia of the Order of Saint Augustine, on Via Paolo VI just outside the Vatican walls, where he celebrated Mass and stayed for lunch.
After his surprise visit to Genazzano last Saturday to pray at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Counsel, also managed by the Augustinian fathers, Prevost continues his emotional tour of the places affiliated with the order to which he feels deeply connected.
Today, despite the surprise, he didn’t have to travel far: the Augustinians’ headquarters are literally a stone’s throw away from the same building where the new Pope is currently staying, just like he did when he was a cardinal. He arrived by car at 11:50 and stayed for over three hours until 3:55 PM, when he was greeted by a joyful crowd of faithful along the short path next to St. Peter’s colonnade on his way back to the Vatican.
“It went well. We celebrated Mass together and then had lunch. It’s a private visit, a return home. He still feels like an Augustinian. His life is always intertwined with the Augustinian community. Even now, dressed as the Pope, he remains the same, always kind. He is a man of faith and prayer. He wants to do good, just as he did when he was the father general here, and now as the Holy Father,” recounts Father Ian Wilson, one of the general assistants at the Augustinians’ Curia. “It was a pleasant surprise,” he adds, mentioning that Prevost had already visited the order’s headquarters the evening before the Conclave. “We also talked about Saint Augustine: whenever we Augustinian friars are together, we always do. And in his teaching, I think the Pope will bring a sense of community from Saint Augustine, because at the heart of our Augustinian life is community.”
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“And I believe,” Father Ian observes, “that he wants to create this idea for the entire Church, a community of faith. And at the center of this community of faith is Jesus Christ.” Today’s lunch was for twenty people, with the Prior General Alejandro Moral Anton sitting next to the Pope. Monsignor Lizardo Estrada Herrera, auxiliary bishop of Cuzco and general secretary of the Latin American Episcopal Council (Celam), expresses his delight at having Prevost as a teacher and for his friendship. “He is an Augustinian like all of us. He was a formator, had many, many seminarians, and for 12 years he was our father general. He traveled the world, so he knows Augustinian friars everywhere.”
He describes the Pope, although born in the USA, as “Latin American at heart, Peruvian at heart. And due to his vast experience, he is a gift to the Church.” But the Pope’s day didn’t end with the meeting with his brothers. An important signal of the desire to strengthen relations with the Jewish community, which has been in crisis since October 7 due to the events in Gaza, came through a message to the Chief Rabbi of Rome informing him of his election. Leo XIV commits to “continue and strengthen the dialogue and cooperation of the Church with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate.” Di Segni, who will be present at the inauguration Mass on Sunday, “received with satisfaction and gratitude the words addressed to him by the new Pope.” Similarly, the Pontiff’s message, dated May 8, to Rabbi Noam E. Marans, director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee (AJC): “We are deeply moved that Pope Leo XIV, so early in his pontificate, has reiterated his commitment to Catholic-Jewish relations,” writes the AJC on X.
Regarding Nostra Aetate, “as we approach the 60th anniversary of this declaration, we look forward to working together to deepen understanding and cooperation,” he emphasizes. Leo XIV has also chosen to maintain an active presence on social media through the papal accounts on X and Instagram. Starting today, the Vatican Communications Department announces the inheritance of the @Pontifex accounts in nine languages on X, which were previously used by Pope Francis and even earlier by Benedict XVI (with a total of 52 million followers). On Instagram, the account is named @Pontifex – Pope Leo XIV, the only official account of the Pope on the platform, in continuity with Pope Francis’ account @Franciscus.
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