Pope calls St. Augustine 'model of conversion' for all Christians

Published: 2007-04-23

PAVIA, Italy (CNS) -- Paying homage to one of the most important figures of the church, Pope Benedict XVI prayed at the tomb of St. Augustine and called him a "model of conversion" for Christians of all ages. Although conditioned by the passions of youth and the habits of his time, St. Augustine sought the truth -- and that led him inevitably to faith, the pope said at a Mass April 22 in the northern Italian city of Pavia. The pope's two-day visit to Pavia and Vigevano, south of Milan, was packed with events: outdoor Masses in both cities, brief encounters with young people, a visit to a hospital and medical center, a university address and a prayer service in the church where the relics of St. Augustine are preserved. It was Pope Benedict's most extensive pastoral visit in Italy, and tens of thousands jammed the streets in each of the small cities to catch their first in-person glimpse of the German pontiff. For the pope, it was above all a personal pilgrimage to the final resting place of a theologian who inspired his own thinking. As a young priest in 1953, the pope wrote his doctoral thesis on St. Augustine's teachings.

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