The Society of Saint Augustine (), also known as the Augustinians of Kansas, is a Catholic

institute of consecrated life An institute of consecrated life is an association of faithful in the Catholic Church canonically erected by competent church authorities to enable men or women who publicly profess the evangelical counsels by religious vows or other sacred bond ...

that takes as its pattern of living, the way of life delineated in the

Rule of Saint Augustine The Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church. The rule, develop ...

Hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

. The community was founded on October 16, 1981, in Amarillo,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

by four Augustinian Recollects. They were later joined later by two more

Augustinians Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

. As an Augustinian community, the Society of Saint Augustine is composed of

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

, religious brothers, and lay people. It is rooted in the Augustinian Recollect tradition, however, it differs somewhat from many other Augustinian Communities in the fact that it places a great emphasis on the inclusion and involvement of the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

in the life and ministry of the community. Wherever a community house is established, the community focuses on extending Augustinian spirituality. Lay "affiliates" take part in Communal activities and regular formation. Affiliates are invited to join the friars in

Daily Office In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In t ...

s, communal events, and even in the apostolate, where appropriate. In turn, they extend Augustinian spirituality through their lives. The members of the community are committed to living a traditional

mendicant A mendicant (from , "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, Mendicant orders, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many i ...

Augustinian Religious life, based on meditation and recollection, community prayer. Members wear the traditional religious Habit consisting of a black (or white) mendicant tunic, black leather

cincture The cincture is a rope-like or ribbon-like article sometimes worn with certain Christian liturgical vestments, encircling the body around or above the waist. As usual with vestments, both the term and the object are taken from ordinary everyday ...

scapular A scapular () is a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the monastic and devotional scapular; both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular". As an object of popular piety, a scapular ...

, and capuce. Over this, they wear a silver Augustinian Cross. Members may also wear a

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

. They celebrate the daily Divine Office, practice a simplicity of life, and are to be faithful to the

. Drawing from the various reform movements in the Augustinian Tradition (the Spanish Recollection, The Observantine Congregation of the Augustinian Order, etc.), the Society of Saint Augustine seeks to adapt aspects of traditional Augustinian Religious Life. to the contemporary needs of the Society. The community transferred to the Archdiocese of Kansas City in 1997 when it was invited by Archbishop James P. Keleher to minister in that diocese. While fostering the "active/contemplative" dimension of Augustinian Religious Life, the Society of Augustine involves itself in a broad spectrum of ministries, including parochial and pastoral care, adult

catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

, Hispanic ministry,

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the of an educational institution. Teaching is closely related ...

, direction of retreats and military chaplaincy. The community focuses on

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...

issues. Presently, this community of friars has two houses: Villa Saint Augustine, in Kansas City, which serves as the Administrative Center for the Community; and Villa Ostia, a retreat house in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

. In April 2009, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City entrusted two parishes to their care: Holy Family Parish, St. Mary–St. Anthony Parish. (St. Anthony Parish had formerly been entrusted to

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Friars who had left some time ago.) The Religious Sisters affiliated with the Society, while sharing in the

charism In Christianity, a spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek language, Greek singular: wikt:χάρισμα, χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the ...

of the community, are governed separately from the Friars. Currently, the Augustinian Recollect Sisters of our Lady of Consolation, have one convent in

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

, Kansas.

References

{{reflist Mendicant orders Augustinian orders History of Catholic religious orders Christian organizations established in 1981