VATICAN CITY, APRIL 17, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will go on pilgrimage to pray before the tomb of St. Augustine, whom he considers one of the great teachers of his life.
The Pope will visit the Italian dioceses of Vigevano and Pavia this Saturday and Sunday and while there, visit the tomb of the bishop of Hippo.
St. Augustine was a fascination for the young Father Joseph Ratzinger, who dedicated his doctoral thesis to the saint's ecclesiology.
Augustinian Father Vittorino Grossi spoke with the press about the Pope's studies of St. Augustine.
The priest mentioned that the Pope has "manifested his love for St. Augustine, explaining that Augustine's theology fascinated him because his principal objective was not a system of theology -- even though it is that, and a good one -- but the human person and his concrete existence."
"Joseph Ratzinger, after being elected Pope, frequently recalls the thought of St. Augustine in his ministry, referring above all to the Hippo bishop's commentaries on the Psalms," Father Grossi added.
The Holy Father will visit Augustine's tomb, located in the Basilica of St. Peters in the Golden Sky in Pavia. The prior-general of the Augustinians, Father Robert Prevost, invited Benedict XVI to visit shortly after his election as Pope.
Father Prevost explained that the visit will mark the blessing of the cornerstone of the cultural center that the order is building, which will be named after the Pope, "due to the strong spiritual and theological links which unite Benedict XVI with the Father of the Church."
The pilgrimage also marks the 750th anniversary of Pope Alexander IV's bull "Licet Ecclesiae Catholicae," which unified the Augustinians.
Augustinian Father Giustino Casciano, prior of the monastery of St. Peter's in the Golden Sky, also mentioned that the pilgrimage dates nearly coincide with the anniversary of Augustine's conversion and baptism, April 24.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, recalled: "The urn with the mortal remains of the saint has four locks, guarded by the bishop, the prior of the basilica, the mayor of the city and the council of the cathedral, thereby demonstrating that Augustine belongs to all of the components of the city, without distinction."
Code: ZE07041704
Date: 2007-04-17