Pope Leo XIV, Augustinian

What is the significance of the fact that the new pope is from a religious order, and specifically from the Augustinian Order?

While both Leo (Augustinian) and Francis (Jesuit) were from religious orders, prior to that it had been 167 years since we had a pope from a religious order. While it is not unheard of, only 34 out of 266 popes (13%) have been from religious orders. That list includes 17 popes from the Benedictines, 6 from the Augustinians, 4 from the Dominicans, 4 from the Franciscans, 2 from the Cistercians, a Theatine and a Jesuit.

The two popes prior to Francis and now Leo XIV, John Paul II and Benedict, were both diocesan popes. What is the difference between diocesan and religious order clergy?

It turns out that there are several differences and some of them are significant.

Religious Orders When a man joins a religious order, like the Augustinians or the Benedictines, he joins a community that professes vows (poverty, chastity and obedience) under the authority of a superior- or prior- general. These orders are world-wide and typically commit to a certain lifestyle or type of service – for example, Franciscans are committed to serving the poor, and Dominicans dedicate themselves to preaching and education.

Augustinians, Pope Leo’s order, call themselves “active contemplatives,” and serve as pastors, educators, and missionaries, both locally and around the world. They live in community according to the “Rule of Augustine,” a set of guidelines written by St Augustine of Hippo, the founder of their order. The Rule of Augustine, written about 400AD, is the oldest guide to living in community, and at just seven pages in length is surprisingly brief and relevant for Christian living today. Click the link above to read it for yourself.

Although many members of religious orders are priests (often called friars), and they may staff a parish, they do so as part of their particular purpose. Religious order priests live in community with other members of their order.

There is only one superior or prior of a religious order, although there may be sub-priors, or provincials, that exercise authority over a geographic area of the order. Leo XIV, for example, in 1999 was elected Provincial of the Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel, covering the US Midwest and Canada, and then Prior-General of the Augustinian Order for two terms, from 2000 - 2013.

Diocesan Clergy Diocesan priests belong to a particular diocese, or geographic area of the Church. They are educated in diocesan seminaries and profess vows of celibacy, (not poverty!), and obedience to the local bishop. They are typically assigned to serve the sacramental needs of a parish - saying the Mass, celebrating baptisms, first communions, confirmations, and marriages, and offering weekly confession, anointing the sick and burying the dead. In addition to serving the spiritual needs of parishioners, they manage the parish church and property. Most Catholic parishes today are served by diocesan priests.

I guess I would sum up by saying that diocesan priests serve the sacramental and administrative needs of a parish, while religious order priests serve a purpose as part of a world-wide order. So, the perspective is different – parish and diocese vs world, service to parishioners vs. service to a cause.

The lifestyle and authority structures of the two groups are also different. Diocesan clergy are educated in local seminaries, ordained by local bishops, and are assigned to and live in parishes under the authority of those bishops. Religious order clergy are trained in seminaries that are part of their order, ordained by their provincial, live in community with other members of their order, and are assigned according to the needs of their order under the direction of a Prior General.

Is there a significance to the fact that our two most recent popes were from religious orders after 167 years of popes from diocesan clergy?

Pope Francis, a Jesuit, chose the name Francis. St Francis famously received a call from Jesus to “rebuild my church.” St Francis initially understood this as a call to rebuild the physical church of San Damiano where he was standing. He soon acquired a group of followers that became the Franciscan order. It dedicated itself to poverty and serving the poor. Was this a needed course-correction to priests and bishops who appeared to have strayed from a life of service and humility? Perhaps.

Pope Francis was also a reformer like St Francis. He reformed the Curia, the administrative arm of the Church, by elevating evangelization – preaching the Gospel in word and deed, over teaching and enforcing doctrine. He began reform of the Church by reintroducing the ancient practice of synodality – clergy and laity discerning together the future direction of the Church, and included women in decision-making and positions of responsibility. And he called the Church’s and the Faithful’s attention again and again to the plight of the poor, especially poor migrants and those living on the margins.

Pope Francis also made another significant change to the operation of the Church. In one of his first addresses to his brother bishops as Pope, he was critical of complacency and clericalism – the attachment of clergy to power and pomp. During his 12-year tenure, Francis elevated priests to bishop who were close to the people they served and were good pastors, good shepherds to their communities. He carried this even further by naming 33 men from religious orders to the rank of cardinal. These 33 cardinals from religious orders made up 25% of the cardinals who elected his successor, Leo XIV.

Will Leo XIV, Augustinian pope, continue leading the Church by utilizing the charisms of religious orders as Francis did? Promoting care for the poor, community discernment, service to others, and obedience?

Religious communities throughout the history of the Church have served as leaven to reinvigorate and reform the Church when it strayed from the purpose given to it by Christ – to live and to preach the Gospel. Or maybe got too close to the Empire. Look at the Desert Abbas and Ammas at the time of Constantine. Across the ages, religious communities shared faith and resources, and served the people around them, humbly, generously, joyously. Is this what the Holy Spirit is calling the Catholic Church to in the elections of Francis and Leo?

Holy Spirit, what are you telling us, asking of us in this moment in time? Help me to pay attention and do my part.AMEN