Pope urges fellow Augustinians to work for unity as he opens their assembly

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV urged his fellow Augustinians on Monday to work humbly for unity in the Catholic Church, as he opened the global assembly of the ancient religious order that is now very much in the spotlight since one of their own is history’s first Augustinian pope.

Leo has emphasized that he is very much a “child of St. Augustine,” the 5th-century theologian who inspired the 13th-century religious Augustinian order as a community of “mendicant” friars. Today, Augustinian spirituality is rooted in a deep interior life of prayer, living in community, and journeying together in search of truth in God.

The pope, who headed the order from 2001-2013, seemed very much at home among his confreres gathered at the Basilica of St. Augustine off Piazza Navona, which houses the tomb of Augustine’s mother, St. Monica.

Aware that not everyone in the pews spoke Italian, Leo summarized his homily for them in English. He joked that over the coming days, as they gather for their global meeting, they might want to pray to the Holy Spirit for help understanding one another.

“Not necessarily for the gift to understand or speak all languages, but the gift to listen, and the gift to be humble and the gift to promote unity within the order and through the order throughout the church and the world,” Leo said.

Every few years, religious orders convene these general assemblies, with elected representatives coming to Rome to chart their future paths, priorities and elect new leaders.

Leo, the then-Rev. Robert Prevost, recalled the novelty of his final assembly as prior general in 2013. He has said that “sort of as a whim,” he invited Pope Francis, who had just been elected pope a few months prior, to celebrate the opening Mass.

“We’ve been in order since 1244, and the pope has always sent delegates. The pope has never presided,” Prevost told a conference last year at a church in Illinois. “So I write this letter to him, and he said ‘yes.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh my God, now what do we do? The pope is coming!’”

In the end, Francis presided over the conference and greeted all Augustinians present, including his eventual successor.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV waves flanked by Alejandro Moral Antón, Order of Saint Augustine prior, upon his arrivial at the St. Augustin Basilica in Rome, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, to address his fellow Augustinians at the start of their global assembly. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the St. Augustin Basilica in Rome, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, to address his fellow Augustinians at the start of their global assembly. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Pope Leo XIV waves upon his arrival at the St. Augustin Basilica in Rome, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, to address his fellow Augustinians at the start of their global assembly. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Pope Leo XIV waves flanked by Alejandro Moral Antón, Order of Saint Augustine prior, upon his arrivial at the St. Augustin Basilica in Rome, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, to address his fellow Augustinians at the start of their global assembly. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Pope Leo XIV waves as hr arrives at the St. Augustin Basilica in Rome, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, to address his fellow Augustinians at the start of their global assembly. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)