ROME — Pope Leo XIV praised the virtue of listening before speaking as he received on Thursday an award from his religious order in the United States on the feast day of Saint Augustine.

Leo reflected on peace, service and Saint Augustine during a video message to his fellow American Augustinians gathered in Philadelphia, near Leo’s alma mater, Villanova University.

The former Robert Prevost, who was twice elected the superior of the religious order, thanked his brothers for the award and reaffirmed that “so much of who I am, I owe to the spirit and the teachings of Saint Augustine.”

Pope Leo: We must listen first before speaking

Leo has said from the start of his pontificate that he is a “son of St. Augustine,” and he has infused his speeches, homilies and messages with the saint’s teachings and values.

The 5th-century Saint Augustine of Hippo inspired the religious order founded in the 13th century as a community of “mendicant” friars, whose spirituality is rooted in a deep interior life of prayer, living in community and journeying together in search of truth in God.

Leo recalled the Augustinian motto in Latin: “veritas, unitas, caritas” (truth, unity, love) in explaining how he lives his faith and vocation.

“Peace begins with what we say and do and how we say and do it. Saint Augustine reminds us that before we speak, we first must listen,” he said.

The video was recorded while the pope was on vacation in Castel Gandolfo this summer, and was being aired at the event organized by the Philadelphia branch of Augustinians known as the Saint Thomas of Villanova province.

People who know Leo say he consults widely and listens before taking decisions, but is decisive once he has made up his mind. He rarely speaks off-the-cuff, preferring to read from prepared texts.

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