The spirit of St. Augustine resonated throughout his feast day celebration and the Diocese of St. Augustine’s 26th Annual Augustinian Address on Aug. 28.
The teachings of unity and love shared by St. Augustine echoed through the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine as featured speaker Father Alvin Paligutan, a priest of the Augustinian Province of California reflected on the philosophy of life.
“Eternal life doesn’t just happen when we pass from this life, but it’s happening now,” Father Paligutan said. “It happens now and forever and ever because of the way we live our lives according to those Gospel values.”
One of the ways Augustinians strive to live their lives with those values as the centerpiece is through a strong sense of community both with their fellow brothers of the order and the world as a whole.
The order has members spanning 50 different countries and their approach to life and service to the church spreads across the world, including Pope Leo XIV.
Father Paligutan has known Pope Leo XIV for more than 20 years and described him as an “intelligent and humble man, and although he is reserved and quiet, he has a wonderful sense of humor and an engaging personality.”
“He is sensitive to the needs of the poor and marginalized, having served as a missionary for Augustinian communities at parishes in Peru and South America,” he said. “If he was here tonight, we would go to the reception and not only would he be talking to you, but he is also a great listener.”
Pope Leo XIV’s Augustinian roots has been evident in many cases, especially when he stated that he plans to move four Augustinians into the papal apartments at the Apostolic Palace showcasing his love for community and family.
According to Father Paligutan, another example of this community at work is that each day he and his fellow Augustinians in his monastery go out and do various charitable work but they always make it a point to come back and have dinner together as an order, spending time sharing stories from their day.
“Our order is all about promoting unity and harmony rather than division,” he said. “From my experience in our Augustinian community, we may have disagreements, frustrations and even anger toward our brothers but we try to patch it up and forgive and be at peace with each other before the end of the night so that the hatred and anger does not go to the next day, because before you know, it turns into resentment for a week, which is something no one wants. Living in harmony within not just our church but within our whole human family is what Pope Leo wants.”
The night’s celebration began with solemn vespers and Bishop Erik Pohlmeier expressed the honor of the diocese to be named after St. Augustine and the example he set as someone whose life was astray only to find the true meaning in it through his love and devotion to God.
