Saint Augustine of Hippo

Augustine was born on November 13, 354, in Thagaste, North Africa, son of the pagan Patricius and the Christian Monica. A gifted student, he taught rhetoric in Carthage, Rome and Milan. For years he searched for truth in philosophy and in the Manichaean sect while living with a woman to whom he was not married and with whom he had a son, Adeodatus.

In Milan the preaching of Saint Ambrose and the prayers of his mother opened his heart. In 386, in a garden, he heard a child's voice repeating take up and read, opened the letters of Saint Paul and resolved to give his life to Christ. He was baptized by Ambrose at Easter in 387. Returning to Africa, he was ordained a priest in 391 and became bishop of Hippo around 396. For over thirty years he preached, cared for his people and wrote masterpieces such as the Confessions and The City of God. He died on August 28, 430, while the Vandals besieged Hippo.

Augustinian friars and sisters, and the many religious communities that follow his Rule, celebrate him solemnly. His words on the restless heart that finds rest only in God are among the most quoted in Christian literature.

In the Philippines, Mexico and Spain, many parishes and towns dedicated to San Agustín hold processions and fiestas.