Pope Leo XIV: 44 Years of a "Yes" That Keeps Bearing Fruit
On June 19, the Augustinian Missionaries in Peru joined Augustinians and Catholics worldwide in celebrating the 44th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Pope Leo XIV.
On that date in 1982, a 26-year-old Robert Francis Prevost was ordained a priest of the Order of Saint Augustine at the Augustinian College of Santa Monica in Rome, just steps from what would one day become his home as Cardinal and then as Pope. Archbishop Jean Jadot presided at the ordination.
On the commemorative holy card that marked the occasion, the young Father Prevost chose a 15th-century Russian icon of the Last Supper and words drawn from Sermon 339 of Saint Augustine: “I cannot feed you with ordinary bread, but this Word is your portion. I feed you with the same table that feeds me. I am your servant.”
Not long after his ordination, Father Prevost was sent as a missionary to Peru, where he spent nearly two decades in service to the local Church. There, he left behind, as the Augustinian community in Trujillo recalls, lasting marks of faith, closeness, and hope. It is a legacy that continues to bear fruit in that community today.
As the Midwest Augustinians join in gratitude for the forty-four years of priestly service that have led from that chapel in Rome to the Chair of Peter, we pray for our brother and Pope and give thanks for a life given wholly to God and to God's people.
