St. Augustine of Hippo

Augustine was born at Tagaste in Roman North Africa in 354. His mother Monica was a Christian; his father Patricius received Baptism shortly before his death. Augustine grew up with knowledge of the Catholic faith, but his abilities and ambitions carried him in other directions. He pursued an education that would prepare him to teach rhetoric, the art of persuasive speech, while struggling with habits and desires he was unwilling to surrender.

For years he attached himself to the Manichees. Their teaching seemed to offer an answer to his questions about the origin of evil, but it eventually disappointed him. He taught at Carthage, then went to Rome and later Milan. His mother followed him to Italy. At Milan he listened to Bishop Ambrose, first admiring his skill as a speaker and then beginning to understand the Christian teaching he explained.

The change involved more than finding persuasive arguments. Augustine could see the truth of a better life while remaining afraid to live it. The example of other converts, including men who had given up position and possessions to serve God, challenged his hesitation. In the Confessions he describes a decisive moment in a garden: hearing a child's voice urging him to take up and read, he opened St. Paul's epistles and read a passage calling him to put aside sinful living and put on Christ.

He withdrew from his teaching work and spent time in prayer, discussion and preparation for Baptism. Ambrose baptized him at Milan at Easter in 387, together with his son Adeodatus and his friend Alypius. Monica died at Ostia as the family prepared to return to Africa. Augustine later recorded their final conversations and prayed for her with enduring affection.

Back in Africa, Augustine lived with companions in prayer, study and a shared use of their possessions. A visit to Hippo brought an unexpected change. The people sought him for the priesthood, and Bishop Valerius ordained him in 391. He was later made a bishop and succeeded Valerius in the care of Hippo. The quiet life he had hoped for now included the demands of a large Christian community.

He preached, explained Scripture, answered letters, settled disputes and provided for people in need. Butler describes the simplicity of his household and his care in accepting gifts for the poor, especially where a donation might injure someone's children or rightful heirs. Clergy shared a common life with him. His work as a teacher grew out of these responsibilities to particular people as well as the wider Church.

His writings addressed questions that troubled Christians around him. Against the Donatists he defended the unity of the Church; against the Pelagians he insisted on the necessity of God's grace. The Confessions joined the account of his past to prayer and thanksgiving. The City of God answered accusations against Christianity after the sack of Rome and considered the purposes and final destiny of human society.

In 430 the Vandals besieged Hippo. Augustine fell ill and had the penitential psalms placed where he could read them from his bed. He died on August 28. Possidius, his disciple and biographer, remembered his concern that the church's library should be preserved. The bishop's books continued to teach after his voice was silent, bearing witness to the mercy that had changed his own life.