Life of Saint Augustine

The life of the great Saint Augustine began on November 13, 354. Born at Tagaste of a respectable family he grew up with a Christian religion education. His family was not rich and his father was one of the city's curiales. It was his mother's Christian virtues that eventually led his father Patricus to receive baptism and therefore a holy death.

Augustine partook greatly of the pagan pleasures while in his teenage years. His father wished him to study forensics and while awaiting the collection of necessary funds for this schooling his idleness gave in to human pleasures and he fathered a son. He attempted to learn from his mistakes and by the age of nineteen he desired to break the chain of his wrongful doings.

Along the way to his devout life he fell into the teachings of the Manichaeans. Augustine claimed to be enticed by the philosophy of free faith and the explanations of the mysteries of nature. It wasn't until the age of twenty-nine and his move to Rome that he would rediscover the preaching and teachings of the Catholic faith. He was finally baptized in 387 on Easter. In 388 Augustine wrote an apology to the church entitled "On the Holiness of the Catholic Church". Augustine was ordained in 391 to the priesthood and became the Bishop of Hippo in the year 396.