Augustinians around Australia are embracing the news of Pope Leo XIV’s election with a mix of joy and admiration. Source: The Catholic Leader.
Pope Leo is the first pope from the Order of Saint Augustine and the seventh from orders following the Rule of Saint Augustine.
He served as prior-general of the order from 2001 to 2013 and travelled extensively to visit the orders around the world, including Australia on four occasions.
Australian Augustinian Fr Tony Banks has known Pope Leo since they first played tennis together in 1981.
Pope Leo “serves better than me”, Fr Bank said with a laugh.
He said Pope Leo was a quiet man with a warm character.
“He has a great sense of humour,” said Fr Banks, who has been based in Rome for 12 years as the head of the Order of St Augustine for Australia and South-East Asia.
Fr Banks expected Pope Leo to be “his own” person and that would play out in his papacy.
Former rector Fr Peter Wieneke said he was confident Pope Leo had visited every Augustinian ministry in Australia.
He said Pope Leo was an approachable man who was intelligent and a good listener.
Fr Wieneke learned of Pope Leo’s election after finishing a spiritual retreat with other priests of Brisbane Archdiocese and finding a large number of emails in his inbox.
He said he had two reactions – surprise that an Augustinian had been picked and a “bit fearful for him because it’s such a big job”.
“I pray it all goes well,” he said.
Fr Wieneke, like many Augustinians, knew him as “just one of us”, even remembering that they had called him “Bob”, as Australians often did for Robert.
He said as prior-general he travelled around the world and so “he’s seen Catholicism in all its varying realities – the poor and the rich”.
FULL STORY
Australian Augustinians rejoice with news of Pope Leo XIV, a son of St Augustine (By Joe Higgins, The Catholic Leader)
