Before Pope Leo XIV was elected as the 266th successor of Saint Peter, he spent more than a decade serving as the prior general of the Augustinians. A book published May 4 contains writings from this chapter of the Pontiff’s life, offering readers an insight to his spirituality through his reflections.
Father Joseph Farrell, the current prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, presented Pope Leo with an Italian edition of Free Under Grace (Vatican Publishing House), according to Vatican News. The book was edited by several other Augustinian priests as well: Father Rocco Ronzani, prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archive; Father Miguel Ángel Martín Juárez; and Father Michael Di Gregorio.
“As already announced by the Vatican Publishing House at the Frankfurt International Book Fair in October 2025, this book — bringing together for the first time speeches, homilies, letters, and messages by Robert Francis Prevost — offers a closer look at the spirituality of Pope Leo XIV,” Vatican News reported.
In the next few months, the book will be published in several other languages.
The Holy Father served as the Augustinian prior general from 2001 to 2013 and is the first Augustinian to be elected pope. In his papal speeches, he has often referred to Saint Augustine’s teachings and reflections, especially on Christian unity. His papal motto is “In Illo uno unum,” meaning, “In the one Christ we are one,” referring to a sermon of Saint Augustine on Psalm 128.
In his first urbi et orbi (to the city of Rome and the world) address after the election May 8, 2025, Pope Leo acknowledged his identity as a religious and his desire to shepherd the universal Church in an evangelistic way.
“I am an Augustinian, a son of Saint Augustine, who once said, ‘With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop,’” he said in the address, speaking from the loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica. “In this sense, all of us can journey together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us.”