A man of deep feeling and faith, profound intelligence and untiring pastoral care, Saint Augustine is considered one of the great Fathers of the Latin Church. He was the author of numerous works, so many that his first biographer, Possidius, was amazed that one man was able to write so many things in his life. His theological, mystical, and philosophical writings helped lay the foundations of Christian thought and are still today a point of reference for many scholars. In particular, the Confessions, his most famous work, are a splendid spiritual autobiography written in praise of God. The indelible mark Saint Augustine left on western culture and on the entire world has made him known, at least by fame, even to those who know have not heard about Christianity or are not familiar with it. Saint Augustine was born in Africa, at Thagaste, on 13 November 354 into a family of small landowners. Even though he received a religious education from his mother, Monica, a passionate woman and a fervent Christian, he led a “wretched and abominable youth,” marked by a long moral crisis and dominated by a restless search for pleasure. Only after reading Cicero’s Hortensius did he discover a passion for philosophy, initiating his path to conversion. Not finding satisfaction in reading the Holy Scriptures, Augustine sought truth in Manichaeism, an Eastern religion founded in the third . . .