"Remember that he [the Pope] is a son of the Second Vatican Council and that he was formed in Conciliar ecclesiology"

He is a Pope with a profoundly Augustinian charisma, a man of dialogue, with a very calm temperament. He is not a centralizer, but neither is he a person who cannot decide. Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, an Augustinian, undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, was called to Rome as archivist of the Augustinian Curia by the then superior, Robert Francis Prevost. Today, his old superior has become Pope, but he has remained profoundly Augustinian and tied to the Augustinian community. You can see it from his outings (the Madonna of Genazzano, the lunch in the Augustinian Curia, the party for the 70th birthday of the Superior Moral), you can also see it from his way of presenting himself. But in what do you see the Pope's Augustinian spirituality? And what kind of pontificate will it be? Bishop Marín explains it in this interview.

The lack of mozzetta was a sign of the disaster that was to come whatever the author says

What kind of Augustinian is Leo XIV? We have seen how close he is to the community, how he often returned to the community for lunch even when he worked at the congregation of bishops. What is Augustinian spirituality and how is it expressed in this Pope?

Already in his first message, from the central balcony of the Vatican Basilica, the new Pope introduced himself without hesitation: “I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian”. The Augustinian charism defines him, as it configures us to all of us Augustinians. It is our way of following Christ and serving the Church. The charism is not considered in a closed, “self-referential” way, to use the expression of Pope Francis, but as a wealth given and shared in the Church.

Perhaps the most important characteristic of the Augustinian charism is the sense of community, of brotherhood, understood in a strong way: “having one soul and one heart directed toward God”, as our Rule says. It is not just living in the same house or working together, but living communion with brothers, friendship in a profound and total sense. And this is only possible starting from union with Christ, that is, from an intense existential and spiritual experience. Furthermore, it has a very dynamic meaning, because it involves us in the world, makes us in solidarity with the entire human family. It is not a spirituality of separation, but of encounter, of inclusion. We already have three interconnected traits here: communion-interiority-social dimension.

This is what Robert Francis Prevost has experienced since he professed in the Augustinian Order in 1978 and what he has always testified in the different phases of his existence. There is no doubt: Pope Leo XIV is essentially an Augustinian. This is an essential key to understanding him.

What does it mean to be an Augustinian today? How do we face the challenges of the world? What are the great challenges, what are the great answers?

It means living the charism of the Augustinians precisely in this time, in this specific era, with its challenges and possibilities. Saint Augustine was a man of his time, very involved in the reality, not always easy, of the Lower Roman Empire, also in the midst of the tensions and divisions of the African Church. Therefore it is very appropriate to know the context in which Saint Augustine lived. In its history our Order has always developed a strong evangelizing dimension. The Augustinians, from the beginning, went to the cities to engage in pastoral work and carried out a great missionary commitment. Therefore, as I have already said, it is not a question of separating oneself from the world, but of knowing it, loving it and serving it, of involving oneself in its reality to bring it the joy of the Gospel.

We must know how to read the signs of our times but always from Christ, that is, with the merciful gaze of God. We live in a concrete era and, at the same time, full of variety and strong contrasts. This is why the answer does not arise from an evanescent spiritualism, but from the love incarnated in every situation, in the today of history. Prefabricated recipes are not enough, it is necessary to know the context by feeling part of our world. As Saint Augustine would say, the Christian is Christ, that is, the definitive answer of God to the needs of humanity.

In what do you see the Augustinian spirituality in this Pope? And what can the Augustinian spirituality bring to the pontificate?

There are three fundamental attitudes in the Pope of clear Augustinian style: humility, search for truth and sense of Christian brotherhood. The first leads him to availability, starting from absolute trust in the Lord; the second pushes him to the experiential knowledge of Christ and to listening to the voice of the Spirit; the third inserts him into the People of God to walk together and serve him.

There are three fundamental attitudes in the Pope of clear Augustinian style: humility, search for truth and sense of Christian brotherhood. The first leads him to availability, starting from absolute trust in the Lord; the second pushes him to experiential knowledge of Christ and to listening to the voice of the Spirit; the third inserts him into the People of God to walk together and serve him.

As for the great options, we cannot predict how the future will develop. I will only say that, in my opinion and considering the Augustinian spirituality, the pontificate will be oriented by the ordo amoris. It will have a strong religious component and a clear insertion in today's world; from doctrinal certainty, it will fight for peace and justice, with a vigorous social dimension; it will be stable, serene, solid, and at the same time dynamic and with a clear ecumenical and missionary perspective. In any case, the center will always be love (caritas).

It is striking that Leo XIV showed clear attention to signs and gestures, even in apparently "normal" things, such as the fact that he decided to wear the mozzetta in his first appearance from the blessing loggia. How important are signs for the Augustinians?

External signs are a way not only to express decorum, but to show one's identity, for example the use of the habit in the case of the Augustinians. The same can be said of liturgical vestments. But external signs cannot detach themselves from the internal reality they represent, otherwise the sign becomes empty and meaningless. We then remain in vain exteriority, running the risk of falling into "rubricism", in the punctilious respect of the norm as such, or even of allowing ourselves to be trapped by vanity. For Saint Augustine, external forms are the manifestation of a deeper reality. Although they are important, they have a secondary, instrumental and transitory character compared to the divine essence and the inner truth. We must always consider the reality they signify.

Therefore it reminds us that both the external form and the rite must be internally invigorated by the Spirit.

As for the use of the mozzetta by Pope Leo XIV, it seems to me that this is a very secondary issue. The liturgical norms establish what the choral dress of the Pope is: white cassock with pilgrim, white sash and zucchetto, linen rochet and red mozzetta. Pope Francis, freely and exercising his authority, chose never to wear the choral, only the plain habit. It is an exception. But he did not want to abolish or change the norm, he simply did not follow it for personal reasons. Pope Prevost returned to what was established. That's all.

Should we expect a Pontificate of surprises or a Pontificate of extraordinary regularity and discipline?

I believe that they should not be presented as opposing or alternative realities, but rather complementary. Robert Prevost has a thoughtful, serene, orderly, calm personality. He is a mathematician and canonist. He has always been a hard worker, disciplined and of great interior balance. At the same time he is determined, generous, courageous, involved. Nor should we forget that he is a man of prayer and of profound interior life, firmly founded on the risen Christ. It is also important to remember that he is a son of the Second Vatican Council and that he was formed in conciliar ecclesiology. For the rest, he does not hesitate to defend what he believes is right and has always sided with the weak and the excluded. And he has characterized himself as being a missionary as a personal choice in all circumstances of life.

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