-- Reflection by Fr. Fred Wekesa, OSA It was May 8, 2025, shortly after the election of Pope Leo XIV, that visitors who usually come at our Basilica of Saint Augustine in Annaba, Algeria, first began to ask: since the Holy Father is an Augustinian, when will the Holy Father pay us a visit in Annaba? Without much reflection on the issue, I responded casually, uncertain of what the future would offer. But during quiet time, I would quietly wonder why, how and when can a Pope ch

Dear brothers and sisters, Two weeks have passed since the penitential sign of ashes was placed on our foreheads. On Ash Wednesday, as every year, we began the Lenten pilgrimage, which culminates in the Easter triumph of Christ, the Lord of life. The Church, our Mother and Teacher, invites us to prepare our hearts and open ourselves to the grace of God with humility and simplicity, acknowledging that we are sinners and that without God’s mercy—expressed in the life, death, an

The time in which Saint Augustine lived was an era of changes and controversies. The Roman Empire was divided between the Greek East and the Latin West, the city of Rome was sacked by Alaric, and the disputes between pagans and Christians took on new perspectives. Augustine's own life, as reflected in his Confessions , is an example of mutations and internal conflicts: from Manichaeism to the episcopate, from Tagaste to Milan and then to Hippo. As a result of his experience a

Stefano Bellesini