This morning, at the Augustinianum de Roma, Pope Leo XIV met with the participants in the General Chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine. In a speech disseminated by the Bulletin of the Holy See, the Pontiff called for a return to interiority as the source of mission, to live formation as an experience of love, and to rekindle the missionary spirit proper to the order.
We leave the complete message of the Holy Father:
Meeting with the Participants in the General Chapter of the Augustinians
September 15, 2025
Address of the Holy Father
Dearest brothers,
I am glad to be with you today on the occasion of your General Chapter. I can say that I feel at home and that I also participate interiorly, in a spirit of spiritual communion, in what you are experiencing in these days. I thank the Prior General who has concluded his service and greet the new Prior recently elected: for such a demanding mission we need the prayer of all; let us not forget it!
The General Chapter is a precious occasion to pray together and reflect on the gift received, on the current relevance of the charism, and also on the challenges and problems that question the community. While the various activities unfold, celebrating the Chapter means placing oneself in listening to the Spirit, in a certain analogy with what our father Saint Augustine said when emphasizing the importance of interiority in the path of faith: «Do not go outside yourself, return to yourself: the truth dwells in the inner man» (De vera religione, 39, 72).
Now, interiority is not a flight from our personal and community responsibilities, from the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us in the Church and in the world, from questions and urgent problems. One enters into oneself to go out afterward with more motivation and enthusiasm toward the mission. Returning to interiority renews the spiritual and pastoral impulse: one returns to the source of religious life and consecration, in order to be able to offer light to those whom the Lord places on our path. The relationship with the Lord and with the brothers of one’s own religious family is rediscovered, because from that communion of love we can draw inspiration and better face the issues of community life and apostolic challenges.
In this context, after a broad shared reflection that you have carried out in these years, you are dwelling on some themes that I would like to recall briefly.
First of all, a fundamental theme: vocations and initial formation. I like to recall that exhortation of Saint Augustine: «Love what you will be» (Sermon 216, 8). It seems to me a precious indication, especially to avoid falling into the error of imagining religious formation as a set of rules to observe or things to do, or as a pre-made habit that is worn passively. At the center of everything is love. The Christian vocation, and in particular the religious one, is born only when the attraction of something great is perceived, of a love capable of nourishing and satisfying the heart. Therefore, our primary concern must be to help, especially the young, to glimpse the beauty of the call and to love what, by embracing the vocation, they will be able to become. Vocation and formation are not pre-established realities: they are a spiritual adventure that encompasses the entire history of a person, and above all an adventure of love with God.
Love, which Saint Augustine placed at the center of his spiritual search, is also a fundamental criterion for the dimension of theological study and intellectual formation. It is not possible to reach God with our reason alone and with a set of theoretical information; it is first of all a matter of letting ourselves be surprised by his greatness, of questioning ourselves and the meaning of events to recognize in them the traces of the Creator, and above all of loving him and making him loved. To those who study, Saint Augustine advises generosity and humility, born of love: the generosity of communicating one’s own research to others so that it strengthens their faith; and humility so as not to fall into the vainglory of one who seeks knowledge for himself, feeling superior to others for possessing it.
At the same time, the ineffable gift of divine charity is what must guide us if we want to live fully the community life and apostolic activity, sharing our material goods, as well as human and spiritual ones. Let us remember how effective what is written in our Rule is: «Just as you are fed from a single pantry, clothe yourselves also from a single wardrobe» (Rule, 30). Let us remain faithful to evangelical poverty and make it a criterion for living everything that we are and have, including means and structures, at the service of our apostolic mission.
Finally, let us not forget our missionary vocation. From the first mission in 1533, the Augustinians have announced the Gospel in many parts of the world with passion and generosity, caring for local Christian communities, dedicating themselves to education and teaching, giving themselves to the poor and carrying out social and charitable works. This missionary spirit must not be extinguished, because it is also very necessary today. I exhort you to rekindle it, remembering that the evangelizing mission to which we are all called requires the witness of a humble and simple joy, availability for service, and closeness to the life of the people to whom we are sent.
Dearest ones, I wish you to continue the works of the Chapter in fraternal joy and with a heart disposed to welcome the inspirations of the Spirit. I pray for you, that the charity of the Lord may inspire your thoughts and actions, making you apostles and witnesses of the Gospel in the world. May the Virgin Mary and Saint Augustine intercede for you, and my apostolic blessing accompany you.