Pope Leo XIV recalled what the “life and witness” of St. Augustine means for Christians on the day the Catholic Church celebrates his feast day, Aug. 28.

“The life and witness of St. Augustine reminds us that each of us has received gifts and talents from God and that our vocation, our fulfillment, and our joy come from giving them back in loving service to God and others,” the pontiff wrote on a post on X.

Since his election as successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV has continually alluded to his vocation as an Augustinian religious. In his first greeting from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8, he exclaimed:

“I am an Augustinian, a son of St. Augustine, who once said, ‘With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.’ In this sense, all of us can journey together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us.”

Throughout his more than three months as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV has consistently included in almost every one of his discourses, catechesis, and statements a pearl of wisdom passed on by the bishop of Hippo.

Not surprisingly, his papal motto, “In Illo uno, unum” (“In the one Christ, we are one”), comes from a homily by St. Augustine, the saintly disciple of St. Ambrose of Milan.

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This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.