Veritas Lecture Series

Fr. Allan Fitzgerald, OSA | The Life and Times of Augustine

Posted December 1st, 2016

By Frankie Mazzuca ’19

On December 1st, the community of St. Augustine Preparatory School welcomed our honorable guest, Father Allan D. Fitzgerald O.S.A. He is a full-time member of Theology at Villanova University and the author of many books; such as Augustine Through the Ages: an Encyclopedia. In 1990, Father Fitzgerald became the Editor of Augustinian Studies; a semi-annual journal on St. Augustine. In 1997, he emerged as a tenured faculty member in Rome, Italy. Most recently, in 2003, he joined the Accademia Ambrosiana in Milan, Italy.

During his talk, Father Fitzgerald expressed that Christ was the only one that could help Augustine fulfill his life goals. Augustine’s influences were Bishop Ambrose and his mother, Monica. Bishop Ambrose knew how to talk to people; he knew how to make people want to know the answer. He did that with Augustine. Monica and Augustine’s relationship is through Augustine’s word come only out of different from the standpoint of each language.

He created a group of philosophers who realized Augustine had the qualities to lead the group. They needed someone who was well known and spoke fluent Latin. The influence on Augustine because of the donatist, who threatened the people wanting to hurt or even kill the priest in Hippo. It is friendship through God that allows us to fully find the answer. He decided to take time off because he needed to concentrate on how to use the salvation of others. Augustine’s seminary was a place to better understand the readings of the scripture and separate its meanings from literal to metaphorical.