CONCHO PADRE

St. Augustine was born in 354 in northern Africa to a Christian mother and a pagan father. He received a Christian education, but spent his teen years in worldly pursuits. He graduated with degrees in grammar and rhetoric and became a professor. He resisted the Church, choosing to practice the Manichaean faith of Persia and later, Neo-platonism. Eventually, through the tireless efforts of his mother, St. Monica; and St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan; St. Augustine reasoned himself into the Christian faith, becoming baptized at age 33. Content to ponder the mysteries of God and live a hermetic lifestyle, St. Augustine initially resisted the priesthood. Upon a trip to Hippo, the townspeople – knowing of St. Augustine’s holiness, begged the aging bishop, Valerius, to ordain him. St. Augustine accepted Holy Orders and took it on with his characteristic ardor. Four years later, he became Bishop of Hippo, blending a monastic lifestyle with clerical duties. St. Augustine is most beloved for his fount of doctrinal truths. He preached and wrote extensively on God, leaving a treasury of wisdom dear to all the faithful. Some of his most famous works include; Confessions, City of God, On Christian Doctrin, and Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love. He is the patron saint of theologians and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1298 by Boniface VIII.