Augustinians were among the founding fathers of the first university of the New World

The Augustinian Order

All text and photos for this feature were lifted from the Augustinian Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova and The Order of Saint Augustinian Order website

The Order of Saint Augustine was founded in 1244 in Italy when several communities of hermits living in the region of Tuscany came together to ask Pope Innocent IV that they be united under one common Rule of life and one Superior General like other Orders that had recently been founded. The Pope gave them the Rule of Saint Augustine and asked representatives of each of their houses, gathered in chapter, to elect a Prior General who would be the sign and principal promoter of their desired unity.

Not many years later, as the number of friars grew and the Order became more geographically extensive, other similar groups of hermits, scattered mostly throughout central Italy, were united to them, forming in 1256 what has come to be known as the Grand Union of the Order.

The strong eremitical emphasis which characterized the early groups gradually began to give way to a mixed life of contemplation and pastoral ministry as the Church…