A dicastery prefect, a vice-regent of the Pontifical Household, and sacristy attendants ... Since the start of Pope Leo XIV's pontificate, members of his own religious order, the Augustinians, have made their presence felt at the Vatican. But is this the result of biased choices, or merely a magnifying glass effect due to Leo's election?
Until now, the Augustinians were a relatively discreet congregation compared to their Dominican, Benedictine, Franciscan, or Jesuit brethren. Yet, since one of their own ascended to the Throne of Peter on May 8, 2025, the media has discovered that they have their headquarters — and a university — just a stone's throw from the Vatican. Not to mention, they hold the keys to the papal sacristy and serve St. Anne's, the Vatican parish, nestled on the right side of St. Peter's
Augustinian appointments
Numbering barely 2,300 worldwide, these men dressed in black habits cinched at the waist with a cord are now frequently spotted in the streets adjacent to the Leonine Walls. In recent months, Pope Leo XIV has also appointed a few of them to leadership roles in the Roman Curia. For instance, Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, the former undersecretary of the Synod, became prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity on March 12.
This Spanish archbishop isn't the only Augustinian appointed by his former prior. In November, Nigerian Father Edward Daniang Daleng became vice-regent of the Pontifical Household, a position created ad hoc by the new pope.
More discreetly, another Augustinian, Bishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera, the auxiliary bishop of Cuzco, Peru, and secretary general of the Latin American Episcopal Council, was appointed in quick succession as a member of two dicasteries: the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development on March 30, and the Dicastery for Communication on April 9.
Beyond sharing a Peruvian nationality and religious affiliation with the Pope, he also shares a commitment to the Synod on Synodality.
Tradition, not nepotism
Among the leaders of the Roman Curia, we find another Augustinian: Father Rocco Ronzani, the prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archives. But Pope Francis actually made that appointment in July 2024. The same goes for the three members of the papal sacristy and the community at St. Anne's Parish, who have all been Augustinians for decades. While Pope Leo XIV has been reunited with a number of his confreres inside the Apostolic Palace, this is more a matter of tradition than nepotism.
“It’s not an Augustinian invasion,” joked a Roman source familiar with the Vatican. They noted that Pope Leo XIV “doesn't seem prone to this tendency of plucking people from his congregation to fill key posts.”
“He’s a mathematician, so he runs the numbers, but these calculations are marked more by objectivity than the subjectivity of his own affiliations,” a priest agreed.
A puzzle for Vaticanists
Having lived in the Eternal City for 30 years, the priest explained that “we've always seen this phenomenon among popes — sometimes a bit excessive in certain cases — of somehow building a second curia of close associates around them.” If that were the case for Pope Leo XIV, “the Augustinian criterion would come into play, since these are people he would have rubbed shoulders with, people he's sure of.”
However, “we haven't seen him recreate a second circle so far; he's looking for competence rather than personal attachments,” the priest analyzed.
As a result, observers don't see any "court of Leo" emerging. This leaves the pontiff trailing an air of enigma in his wake: “Who is with him? Whom does he consult? We have a very hard time knowing who is in his inner circle,” a seasoned Vaticanist admitted.
