Pope Leo XIV’s spiritual reflections on St. Augustine are now available to English-speaking readers with the release of Freedom Under Grace: Reflections on the Spiritual Tradition That Formed Me.
The English edition went on sale Sept. 15 in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and throughout the Commonwealth, according to Vatican News. The collection offers readers a window into the Augustinian spirituality that helped form Pope Leo long before his election to the papacy.
The book gathers addresses, homilies and personal writings from the years when the future Pope, then Fr. Robert Prevost, served as Prior General of the Order of St. Augustine.
That background carries particular significance today. Pope Leo is the first Pope from the Order of St. Augustine and the first American Pope, giving English-speaking Catholics an opportunity to encounter writings composed during an earlier chapter of his religious life.
According to a Penguin Random House press release cited by Vatican News, the collection reveals the “why” behind the future Pope’s contemplative responses to the challenges facing the Church and the world.
Those writings touch on major events and questions of recent decades. The publisher says the future Pope “invites readers to sit at the table” as he responds to the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, emerging political ideologies, poverty, and conflicts involving human rights.
At the center of the collection is the influence of St. Augustine, whom Pope Leo has called his “spiritual father.”
Drawing from Augustine’s thought, the publisher says Pope Leo presents a vision of life grounded in “community, solidarity, and service to marginalized communities.”
For Catholics seeking to better understand the spiritual foundations of Pope Leo’s leadership, the book provides a look at ideas he was developing and teaching years before becoming Pope. Rather than beginning with his pontificate, the collection reaches back into his life as an Augustinian priest and leader, showing the spiritual tradition that helped shape his approach to faith, society, and service.
The English edition is published in the United States by Image Books, an imprint of the Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, according to Vatican News. In the United Kingdom and Australia, it is published under Penguin Random House UK’s Enlighten imprint.
The work was originally published in Italian by the Vatican Publishing House under the title “Liberi sotto la Grazia.”
An audiobook edition will also bring together two prominent voices. Vatican News reports that Emmy Award-winning comedian and Catholic Stephen Colbert will read the book’s opening homilies and addresses, while award-winning narrator and Grammy nominee Scott Brick will narrate the main text.
With “Freedom Under Grace,” English-speaking Catholics now have access to writings that illuminate the Augustinian roots of Pope Leo XIV’s spirituality and offer a glimpse into the convictions that helped form the man who would eventually become Pope.
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