THE ORDER OF SAINT AUGUSTINE
The Order of Saint Augustine was founded in 1244 in Italy when several communities of hermits living in the region of Tuscany came together to ask Pope Innocent IV that they be united under one common Rule of life and one Superior General like other Orders that had recently been founded. The Pope gave them the Rule of Saint Augustine and asked representatives of each of their houses, gathered in chapter, to elect a Prior General who would be the sign and principal promoter of their desired unity. Not many years later, as the number of friars grew and the Order became more geographically extensive, other similar groups of hermits, scattered mostly throughout central Italy, were united to them, forming in 1256 what has come to be known as the Grand Union of the Order. The strong eremitical emphasis which characterized the early groups gradually began to give way to a mixed life of contemplation and pastoral ministry as the Church called the Order to form part of the Mendicant Movement and engage in the work of evangelization.
Within a century of the Grand Union there were already 8,000 friars established in many countries, involved in a variety of works, as pastors, preachers, educators, scholars, theologians and missionaries – all for the proclamation of the Gospel, – as well as others engaged as carpenters, farmers, beggars and bakers, for the internal needs of the communities. All of them professed one and the same way of life according to the ideals and values upon which Saint Augustine had ordered his vision of religious community. Early in our history groups of women religious were aggregated to the Order as well, and many lay men and women shared the Order’s spirituality and liturgical customs as members of Augustinian lay fraternities.
During periods of great missionary effort in the Church, Augustinians were counted among other religious of various Orders and Congregations who ventured into foreign lands to extend the message of the Gospel and to lay the foundations for religious life. They ventured throughout Europe, as well as to North and South America, Africa, Japan, Persia, India, and China. Augustinians were among the founding fathers of the first university of the New World, and were the first evangelizers of the Philippine Islands.
Presently, members of the Order live and minister in over 40 countries on every continent, preaching the Gospel in a wide variety of ways, among people of every faith and no faith, of many cultures, languages and traditions, seeking to foster St. Augustine’s ideal of uniting people in the communion of mind and heart for the glory of God and the service of God’s people.
The Augustinians founded St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church in 1912 and have continued to serve the parish for over 100 years. Combined with their longstanding presence at the Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia and the recent addition of pastoral leadership at Annunciation BVM, the order has affirmed their commitment to serving the Catholic community in South Philadelphia for many years to come.
Learn more about the Augustinians at www.augustinian.org.