Pope Encourages Augustinian Sisters to Persevere and Be Brave in Mission

Vatican City, July 6, 2025 : Pope Leo XIV has urged the Augustinian Sisters Servants of Jesus and Mary to remain patient in difficulties, courageous in their educational mission, and steadfast in following Christ, mentioning that “a culture without truth becomes a tool of the powerful”.

Speaking during an audience with the sisters in the Apostolic Palace on Saturday, 5 July, the Pope stressed that such a culture, “instead of freeing consciences, it confuses and distracts them according to the interests of the market, trends or worldly success”.

He emphasised that the sisters would persevere in following Christ, “who is ‘the way, the truth and the life’ and therefore the criterion of all our cultural initiatives.”

The Augustinian Sisters Servants of Jesus and Mary were founded in 1827 by the Venerable Maria Teresa Spinelli, an Italian Augustinian sister dedicated to teaching and supporting young people. Today, the order operates in nine countries, ranging from the Philippines to Brazil, continuing the mission of their foundress through educational projects, assistance to marginalised young people and women, and the provision of medical care.

Besides encouraging the sisters to let Christ guide their mission, Pope Leo offered them two further recommendations to emulate their foundress. He called on them to “be patient in tribulations, because it is precisely in our trials that the Lord confirms his faithfulness; you will be brave in your mission, so that the educational work to which you dedicate yourselves may form wise minds and hearts capable of listening and to feel passion for humanity.”

The Pope also urged the sisters to read St. Augustine’s work De Magistro, in which the saint explains “that outward teaching must always lead to an encounter with the inner Teacher, who is Jesus.”

As the canonisation process of Venerable Maria Teresa Spinelli progresses, Pope Leo told the sisters that their own “journey of holiness” also continues. He insisted they should always be “guided” by Jesus and Mary, as reflected in the name of their congregation. “The service you live each day is realised first of all in the consecration of your lives to the Lord and is strengthened in sincere devotion to his and our Mother,” he said.

Courtesy: Vatican News