Prevost’s Surprise: When Leo XIV Visited the Augustinians of Figline

“To my dearest sisters of the Monastery of the Holy Cross, with deep fraternal affection, happy to have had the opportunity to meet the community. I ask the Lord for His blessing upon you.” Signed: Robert Prevost.

It is a special dedication that the Augustinian nuns of the convent of Figline proudly display in their visitors’ book. The date is September 18, 2011, when the future Pope Leo XIV—at the time Prior General—decided to make a surprise visit to his sisters of the province of Florence.

“We were so excited that we didn’t even take a photo!” the nuns of Figline recall with a laugh. “He showed up without notifying the community: it was a pleasant day, during which we spoke with Father Prevost about many things, but we were so caught up in the moment that we didn’t think to capture it in a picture.”

To bear witness to his visit, there remain only those few lines, written directly by the future pontiff, whom the sisters met again just a few months ago in Rome, in October 2024, during a conference on the Rule of Saint Augustine at the Augustinian General Curia in Rome.

“He had been made cardinal just over a year earlier, and now he is our Pope,” the nuns of the Monastery of the Holy Cross say with emotion. “It was moving to hear his name pronounced by the dean and to see live the strong emotion, almost to the point of tears, of Leo XIV: we remained there, listening to him, and we received his blessing.”

It was a great joy—an Augustinian becoming Pope. “It is a great source of pride for our religious family, but also a responsibility,” the nuns say. “On Pope Leo XIV’s shoulders rest not only the brothers and sisters of the Catholic faith; the Holy Father embraces the men and women of the whole world. It is a great burden, and in our small way, we try to help him by praying for him. We did this for his predecessors too, but Father Prevost is an Augustinian, and we have a personal connection with him that makes him even dearer to our hearts.”

For this reason, the sisters of the monastery of Figline have begun to pray, entrusting Leo XIV’s new ministry to Our Lady of Good Counsel and to Our Lady of Consolation—two Augustinian Marian titles—in the hope that they may guide Prevost in the difficult choices he will have to make, while also offering him a touch of comfort when needed along his journey.

In their hearts, the nuns of Figline carry sweet and positive memories of the occasions when they were able to meet Father Prevost, first as Prior General and then as Cardinal. Of course, it would not be unwelcome now to greet him in his new role as Pope.

“Yes, in our hearts we nurture the hope that one day a new meeting will be possible, according to the Holy Father’s schedule. To be able to meet him again as an Augustinian and as the representative of our great family would be even more beautiful.”