5 Ways Augustine’s Rule might shape the papacy of Leo XIV

With the election of Pope Leo XIV — the first pope from the Augustinian Order in modern times — many are asking what the Rule of St. Augustine might reveal about his approach to leadership. True, there have been previous popes associated with communities following the Rule of St. Augustine. Notably, Pope Adrian IV, who reigned from 1154 to 1159, was a member of the Canons Regular of St. Ruf, a community adhering to Augustine’s rule.

In total, several popes have been connected to religious communities inspired by St. Augustine’s teachings, but Pope Leo XIV stands as the first from the formal Augustinian Order established in the 13th century.

Written in the early 5th century, the Rule of St. Augustine is not a technical manual or a detailed monastic code. It’s a spiritual framework for living together in Christ. Short, deeply human, and strikingly modern in tone, the Rule offers key insights into how Leo XIV may understand community, authority, and the Church’s mission.

Here are five essential ideas that shape the Augustinian tradition — and may shape this papacy.

The Rule opens with a direct and disarming instruction: “Before all else, love God and then your neighbor.” Everything else — discipline, prayer, common life — flows from this foundation. Augustine’s starting point isn’t obedience but relationship. This emphasis has already appeared in Pope Leo’s early addresses. His pastoral instinct echoes Augustine’s: no reform without charity.

Augustine knew how fragile community could be. His rule insists on common purpose, shared possessions, and mutual forbearance — but always in the service of interior unity, not external sameness. “Let all of you then live together in oneness of mind and heart,” he writes. Pope Leo XIV, a former missionary and bishop in Latin America, seems attuned to this balance. His tone so far suggests a leadership style focused not on rigid alignment, but on reconciling difference within communion.

The Rule does not romanticize power. Superiors are warned to be servants, not dominators. They are urged to correct gently, listen attentively, and remember that they too are under God’s judgment. “The more you are honored, the more you must humble yourselves.” For a pope who inherits a Church troubled by institutional distrust, Augustine’s call to humble authority may be especially resonant. He has already emphasized the importance of listening.

Unlike later monastic rules, Augustine’s is sparing on ascetic details. There are no long prescriptions for fasting or silence. Instead, the Rule attends to envy, pride, and gossip — faults of the heart more than the body. It calls for moderation, modesty, and truthful speech. If Leo XIV’s style proves more pastoral than performative, it may reflect this Augustinian focus: reform begins in the soul, not in spectacle.

Augustine wrote his rule for communities of lay Christians and clergy living in urban North Africa — not cloistered monks. It’s practical, brief, and written in the language of everyday relationships. This accessibility may help explain Pope Leo’s direct, unembellished style. His formation comes from a tradition that sees holiness not as withdrawal from the world, but as living in it differently — with mercy, patience, and shared purpose.

As the Church begins to understand the character of Leo XIV’s pontificate, Augustine’s rule offers a quiet key. It teaches that the Church is most itself when it is humble, united, and built on love. In a time of global division and spiritual fatigue, the wisdom of this ancient rule may be more relevant than ever.