The Conversion of St. Augustine of Hippo

Apostolic Letter of John Paul II

Over the next six days I will post installments of Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter on the Conversion of St. Augustine. St. Augustine is an important figure in the life of the Church and one we should look to as an example of holiness.

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The Conversion of St. Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo (Augustinum Hipponesm) by Pope John Paul II

Apostolic Letter to the bishops, priests, religious families and faithful of the whole Catholic Church on the occasion of the 16th centenary of the conversion of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor, 28 August 1986.

Venerable brothers and beloved Sons and Daughters: Greetings and the Apostolic Blessing!

Augustine of Hippo, who, scarcely one year after his death, was called "one of the best teachers" of the Church by my distant predecessor, St. Celestine I,[1] has been present ever since in the life of the Church and in the mind and culture of the whole western world. In a similar fashion, other Roman Pontiffs have proposed the example of his way of life and the writings that embody his teachings as an object of contemplation and imitation, and very many Councils have often drawn copiously from his writings.

Pope Leo XIII praised his philosophical teachings in the Encyclical Aeterni Patris;[2] later, Pius XI made a brief synthesis of his virtues and teachings in the Encyclical Ad salutem humani generis, declaring that, of those who have flourished from the beginnings of the human race down to our own days, none—or, at most, very few—could rank with Augustine, for the very great acuteness of his genius, for the richness and sublimity of his teachings, and finally for his holiness of life and defense of Catholic truth.[3] Paul VI later affirmed: "Indeed, over and above the shining example he gives of the qualities common to all the Fathers, it may be said that all the thought-currents of the past meet in his works and form the source which provides the whole doctrinal tradition of succeeding ages."[4]

I too have added my voice to those of my predecessors, when I expressed my strong desire "that his philosophical, theological and spiritual doctrine be studied and spread, so that he may continue ... his teaching in the Church, a humble but at the same time enlightened teaching which speaks above all of Christ and love."[5] On another occasion, I urged in particular the spiritual sons of this great saint "to keep the fascination of St. Augustine alive and attractive even in modern society." This is an excellent ideal that must fire us with enthusiasm, because "the exact and heartfelt knowledge of his life awakens the thirst for God, the attraction of Christ, the love for wisdom and truth, the need for grace, prayer, virtue, fraternal charity, and the yearning for eternal happiness."[6]

I am very happy, accordingly, that the propitious circumstance of the sixteenth centenary of his conversion and baptism offers me the opportunity to evoke his brilliant figure once again. This commemoration will be at the same time a thanksgiving to God for the gift that He has made to the Church, and through her to the whole human race, with this wonderful conversion. It will also be a very fitting occasion to recall to all that this convert, when he had become a bishop, was a marvelous example to pastors in his intrepid defense of the true faith, or, as he would say, of the "virginity" of the faith.[7] He was likewise the genius who constructed a philosophy that can truly be called Christian because of its harmony with the faith, and a tireless promoter of spiritual and religious perfection.

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ENDNOTES

1 Celestine I, Apostolivi verba (May 431): PL 50, 530 A.

2 Cf. Leo XIII, Aeterni Patris (August 4, 1879): Acta Leonis III, I, Rome 1881, p. 270.

3 Cf. Pius XI, Ad salutem human generis (April 22, 1930): AAS 22 (1930), p. 233.

4 Paul VI, Discourse to the Religious of the Augustinian Order (May 4, 1970): AAS 62 (1970), p. 426; cf. L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, May 21, 1970.

5 John Paul II, Discourse to the Professors and students of the "Augustinianum" (May 8, 1982): AAS 74 (1982), p. 800; cf. L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, June 14, 1982.

6 John Paul II, Discourse to the General Chapter of the Augustinian Order on August 25, 1983: Insegnamenti VI-2 (1983), p. 305; cf. L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, September 3, 1983. 7 Cf. St. Augustine, Serm. 93, 4; 213,

7: PL 38, 1063. (Henceforth, all references not expressly naming the author are to be understood as "St. Augustine").

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