Day 1 Chronicle: 1 September 2025
1. On this day, the Ordinary General Chapter of the Order of St. Augustine was inaugurated with the opening mass presided by the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV
ORDINARY GENERAL CHAPTER OF THE ORDER OF ST. AUGUSTINE 2025
DAY 1: 1st September 2025
1. On this day, the Ordinary General Chapter of the Order of St. Augustine was inaugurated with the opening mass presided by the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, at Saint Augustine’s Basilica, Rome, at about 18.00 hrs (Italian time). The mass saw in attendance all the participants at the chapter, Augustinian friars from various communities in and around Rome, Augustinian sisters, friars of other Augustinian families, as well as lay associates and friends of the Augustinian order.
2. In his homily, the Holy Father first greeted in English the assembled chapter members and then continued his message in Italian. Drawing insights from St. Augustine’s meditations on the miracle of the Pentecost, the Holy Father emphasized the themes of listening, unity, and humility.
a. He admonished that the environment of listening permeate the chapter and asked the chapter members to pray that the Holy Spirit fill them with the spirit to listen to God and to one another.
b. The Holy Father also exhorted the chapter members to observe their sharing of ideas and views with humility, that no one may think he possesses all the answers.
c. Drawing from the readings of the liturgy which emphasized the diversity of charisms and their unity of divine origin (One Spirit, One Lord, One God), the Holy Father emphasized unity as that which should be the foundation and measure of all our actions at the chapter. For it is what we should use to measure if we are doing the right thing or not.
3. Just before the final blessing to conclude the Eucharistic celebration, the Prior General, P. Alejandro Moràl, offered words of thanks to the Holy Father:
a. He thanked the Holy Father for accepting to preside at the opening mass of the chapter. He also thanked God and congratulated the Holy Father over his emergence as Pope.
b. On behalf of the friars of the Order, the Prior General renewed the Order’s fidelity to the Apostolic see, calling to mind the foundation of the Order at the initiative of the Holy See.
c. Sharing his reflection on what he was expecting to hear from the Holy Father, the Prior General expressed the desire to hear about peace and communion, desires that the Holy Father has not ceased to express, often encouraging the world not to give in to the logic of violence.
4. At the end of the mass:
a. The Holy Father sat for a picture with the friars and the rest of the assembly.
b. He went further to share a moment of greetings with each friar and those in attendance at the mass, offering each a rosary.
c. The encounter with the Holy Father was concluded with a fraternal meal with the chapter participants at the Avvocatura dello Stato Italiano (the building housing the Attorney General’s Office) which shares walls with the Augustinian community of St. Augustine’s Basilica.