St. Augustine of Hippo

Saint of the month - St. Augustine of Hippo
DIOCESE OF KALAMAZOO PATRON SAINT
Feast Day: August 28, 2020

After St. Paul, St. Augustine is considered the most influential voice in the development of Western Christianity and philosophy. His thought helped form the doctrine of original sin, the grace of Christ and the just war theory. His work influenced the teaching on the Trinity by the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. Of his voluminous writings, Confessions, The City of God and On Christian Doctrine are considered his most significant works. He was named a doctor of the Church in 1298.

Though his mother, St. Monica, was a devout North African Christian, Augustine did not become a Christian until he was 33. Sent away to school as a child, he studied Latin literature and pagan beliefs. At 17, he moved to Carthage to study rhetoric and there pursued a life of pleasure. By all accounts, he was a brilliant student and eventually became a master of rhetoric, teaching the subject for many years. Augustine eventually moved to Milan, and there he met the famous orator St. Ambrose, who had a tremendous influence on him and played a large role in his conversion to Catholicism. After he read about the life of St. Anthony of the Desert, a Christian monk, Augustine heard the voice of a child say “Tolle, lege,” or “Take up and read.”

He randomly opened Scripture to Romans 13 and read the words of St. Paul: “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.” (13-14)

His conversion was a blessing to his mother, St. Monica, who had prayed ceaselessly for him for years. He was baptized in 387, ordained a priest in 391 and named bishop of Hippo in 395. He preached tirelessly to convert the people of North Africa until his death in 430.

Kalamazoo Connection:
• St. Augustine Cathedral, established in 1852, celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2002
• St. Augustine Cathedral School
• “Tolle, Lege” is featured on the official diocesan crest