Born on November 13, 354 in Northern Africa, St. Augustine of Hippo was born to another saint called St. Monica. Augustine grew up and was very intelligent and even studied rhetoric (public speaking and persuading), but as a teen and adult, in his own words, he was very sinful; he even had a son named Adeodatus with a girl he wasn’t married to. His mother though, who was very devoted to a Christian, prayed for his conversion.
Augustine later moved to Milan to teach rhetoric and there he met Ambrose of Milan; Ambrose’s preaching deeply inspired him. In 386, Augustine heard a child’s voice say, “Take and read.” Augustine then took a bible and opened it to Romans 13: 13–14 and read “Let us behave honorably as in the day: not in orgies and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and allow no opportunity for the flesh to gratify its sinful desires.” Augustine felt convicted and converted to Christianity and was even baptized by Ambros
Some of Augustine’s major works as books are Confessions and City of God. Confessions are his spiritual autobiography that talks about sin, grace, and God’s mercy. One of Confessions’ famous lines is: “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” City of God was written after Rome was sacked in 410. This book describes the difference between the City of Man, earthly and a very sinful society, and the City of God, earthly and a Heavenly Kingdom.
He had 4 core teachings. Grace: Humans can’t save themselves, but we need God’s grace to achieve salvation. Original Sin: All humans inherit Original Sin from Adam and Eve and only God’s will can heal this. Free Will: All humans have free will, but sin weakens our ability to choose good without grace. The Trinity: He explained how God is three people in one using phycological analogies such as memory, understanding, and will.
Augustine became Bishop of Hippo in 396 and there he fought heresies such as Donatism (the validity of the sacrament came from the purity of the priest) which he was one of the main opponents to this belief, saying that the sacrament comes from Christ, not the purity of the minister. And he wrote letters, sermons, and theological works during his time as Bishop.
Augustine died in 430 when he was under siege by vandals. When he was under siege, he even requested that the Penitential Psalms be placed on his wall so he could continue to read and pray them, showing that he still loved God despite such an event going on in his city.
This now concludes the ending of this story of St Augustine of Hippo, and I hope everyone has an amazing rest of their day on the first Sunday of Lent 2026 and the Feast Day of the Chair of St. Peter.