On May 8 last, Pope Leo XIV was elected Pope Leo XIV. But for the Augustinian Recollects, Robert Prevost was not an unknown face. In August 2019, during a visit to the Augustinian bishops of Peru, the then bishop of Chiclayo shared an unpublished interview with our Communications Office. Today, that testimony becomes a prophetic jewelan intimate portrait of the pastoral heart of the one who now guides the Universal Church.
“I am a missionary by the grace of God.”
This is how Robert Prevost introduced himself at the beginning of the conversation. The simplicity of his words contrasts with the depth of his life. “I am an Augustinian, a priest since 1982, and working in Peru since 1985. I like adventure, and when the Lord calls, one responds”.
He tells how he arrived in Chulucanas at the invitation of Bishop Juan McNabb to collaborate in the pastoral transformation of a prelature into a diocese. Since then, his life has been a missionary his life has been a missionary, communitarian and dedicated journey..
“I have always believed in the missionary dimension as something that defines our Augustinian identity. It does not belong to a few, it belongs to all the baptized”.
A pastor with the soul of a trainer
A pastor with the soul of a trainerFor more than eleven years, Robert Prevost was a formator of priests, director of studies, pastor, professor and judicial vicar. director of studies, parish priest, professor and judicial vicar in Peru. in Peru. Here one does everything,” he said with humor, “but always with the joy of serving.
He recognized that to form new pastors was not only to transmit knowledge, but to teach how to live communion, to be witnesses to the Gospel and to build community. to teach how to live communion, to be witnesses to the Gospel and to build community.. “I have received so much from the people. Being a missionary is not about giving: it is about learning to receive.”
Evangelizing in a changing world
With a lucid outlook, the now Pope spoke of today’s challenges: secularization, relativism, spiritual poverty, social networks, youth uprooting.. But he did not do so in a pessimistic tone. Quite the contrary:
“There is a lot of living religiosity, a lot of openness. The important thing is to be prepared to accompany. The Church has to be in the new frontiers”.
And he affirmed with conviction that change is not made by pastoral plans, but by witnesses:
“The Gospel is communicated in community, in charity, in closeness. This is the mission that we all share”.
Church on the way out and Augustinian heart
As an Augustinian religious – and for 12 years Prior General of the Order – Robert Prevost took up the challenge of incarnating the spirituality of St. Augustine: common life, fraternal communion, search for God and missionary service..
“The spirituality of communion is one of the great contributions we can offer to the Church. And I lived it strongly as prior, and now as bishop.”
He was convinced that the Church needs more than ever witnesses of unity, closeness, humility and service. witnesses of unity, of closeness, of servant humility.. His vision was clear: the future belongs to those who build bridges, not walls. build bridges, not walls.
Digital mission: evangelizing in the new frontiers
One of the most insightful passages of the interview was his reflection on the new methods of evangelization. new methods of evangelization. Leo XIV -then Bishop Prevost- spoke with lucidity about the need for the Church not only to walk with the people, but to to accompany the faith in a world profoundly transformed by technology and digital culture..
“All of that is coming here as well. So, it is very important that we are prepared to accompany the people of God, to continue living their faith, but in a world that has changed a lot and is changing. Also with the new methods, with the use of technology, in social networks.”
These words, more relevant today than ever, show a Pope who understands contemporary challenges and is not afraid to face them. From traditional evangelization to social networksFrom traditional evangelization to social networks, Leo XIV understood that mission is an attitude of the heart:
“The missionary does not come only to give. In fact, we receive a lot from the people. And to live this experience in community, to build community, sharing all what each one has.”
His integrating gaze – inherited from St. Augustine and from the pastoral impulse of Pope Francis – reminds us that the mission does not belong to a few envoys, but to the whole Church, on every platform and in every reality where the Gospel can touch the human heart..
An interview that today speaks with new force
Recorded in 2019, this conversation seems written for today. The style he shows in the interview matches the first words of Pope Leo XIV.: simple faith, love of the people, missionary impulse, fraternal communion.
And the most striking thing is that what he said then was not a speech, but the way he lived his life. the way he lived. A life given in the peripheries, as pastor, formator, Augustinian, brother and servant.
Leo XIV, a Pope with a friendly face
Today, this testimony is a living living memory of the pastoral heart of the one who will lead the Universal Church.. We, the Augustinian Recollects, gratefully share this interview, knowing that Augustinian spirituality continues to bear the fruits of holiness and service..
“The missionary does not come only to give. He receives, he allows himself to be transformed, he learns from the people of God. That is the mission of the Church.