Some of the Augustinians gathered at St. Peter’s Square have already been with Pope Leo XIV in his visits to PH as prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, and now, they are in Vatican City to be with him as he marks the official start of his pontificate. PHOTOS COURTESY OF REV. FR. GENESIS LABANA, OSA
MANILA, Philippines — Some Augustinians from the Philippines are in the Vatican to witness the inauguration of their brother, Pope Leo XIV, as successor of St. Peter during a Mass that will be celebrated at St. Peter’s Square.
According to Rev. Fr. Genesis Labana, some of them had accompanied the Pope during his visits to the Philippines when he was still the Prior General of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA).
Labana said the Filipino Augustinians present in Vatican City came all the way from several OSA “provinces” across the world to witness the Pope receive the insignia linked to St. Peter—the Pallium and the Ring of the Fisherman.
READ: LOOK: Scenes ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration mass
Like Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, Labana is an Augustinian based in Rome. He said several prior provincials of the OSA have arrived in Vatican City to see the Pope mark the official start of his pontificate.
The Augustinians, a religious order once led by the Pope, is credited as the “first apostles” of Catholicism in the Philippines, having been the first missionaries to arrive with Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565.