Saint Augustine was born in northern Africa in 354. Despite being raised by a devoted Christian mother, he was a difficult child, and grew to be an atheist. A highly intelligent scholar who had received the finest education, he founded a school of rhetoric in Rome in 383. However, dissatisfied with the city, he moved to Milan in a year’s time. It was there he met the bishop St. Ambrose, who was a convincing orator with a formidable command of rhetoric. In contrast with his contemporaries, St. Ambrose was an orator with a commitment to truth, and did not indulge in subterfuge and flattery to acquire influence. This integrity had a particular impression on St. Augustine and was instrumental in his conversion to the faith.
St. Augustine’s mother, St. Monica, also prayed unyieldingly for his redemption, and in 387, her prayers were answered. Then, following her passing, St. Augustine returned to North Africa, and founded a religious order in Tagaste. He later was ordained, and in 395 he became bishop of Hippo.
Any discussion of St. Augustine must include that he was a giant of Western philosophy. Pope Benedict XVI remarked that he was “one of the great figures in the history of thought.” Not only did St. Augustine have a significant impact on Christianity, but on Western culture and philosophy more broadly. By some accounts, his Confessions is considered the first autobiography of the West, and is perhaps the “most widely read book of Christian antiquity.”
The sheer volume of writings St. Augustine produced in his lifetime is staggering all on its own, including an estimated 3,000 letters and homilies, as well as an additional 1,000 other publications of significant philosophical and theological depth. One of Augustine’s friends, the bishop Possidus, remarked that his works were so immense that it would be nearly impossible for a scholar to read them and know them all well.
For more: https://www.augustinian.org/saint-augustine
For even more: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-augustine-of-hippo/
***
San Agustín nació el 13 de noviembre del 354 en Tagaste, al norte de África. El padre de Agustín, llamado. Patricio, era un hombre pagano de temperamento violento pero que gracias al ejemplo de Mónica, su esposa, se bautizó poco antes de morir. En su juventud Agustín se dejó arrastrar por los malos ejemplos y llevó una vida licenciosa, aferrado a la herejía maniquea. Su madre (Santa) Mónica había enseñado a orar a su hijo desde niño, y le había instruido en la fe, pero no había logrado que Agustín creyera en el cristianismo y en la Iglesia Católica.
Luego, en Milán, Agustín empezó a asistir como catecúmeno a las celebraciones litúrgicas del Obispo Ambrosio, quedando admirado de sus prédicas y de su vida de fe. El 23 de abril de 387, a los 33 años de edad, fue bautizado en Milán por el Santo Obispo Ambrosio.
San Agustín escribió más de cien títulos separados, entre los que se encuentra su famosa autobiografía titulada Confesiones. San Agustín, consagrado Doctor de la Iglesia, murió el 28 de agosto de 430, a los 72 años de edad.
