Our Stories:
Why the Augustinians?

Jun Maranan, in his white Novice habit. Five years ago, Jun Maranan could not have imagined himself here. He had spent more than two decades building a successful career in healthcare. He was an occupational therapist, researcher, consultant, educator, administrator, and counselling manager. His work was meaningful. He was helping people. He had built a secure and successful life. “If you would have asked if I was interested in entering a religious community, I would have tol

Kurt Bragg, here photographed in his white Novice Habit. Kurt Bragg likes to see the whole road ahead. “I'm a 30,000 foot view person," he says. "I like to see the road and all the pathways to get there before I make decisions." His vocation journey? It hasn't worked that way. On August 1, 2026, Kurt will make his First Profession of Vows as an Augustinian, promising to live poverty, chastity and obedience in the Augustinian way of life. After spending a year in the novitiate

Brent Faubert in his white Novice habit. For much of his adult life, Brent Faubert was doing exactly what he thought he was supposed to do. He built a successful career. He pursued professional achievement. He worked hard, advanced in his field and accomplished many of the goals he had set for himself. Then, in his 30s, something unexpected happened. “I had achieved so many of my objectives and didn't feel the way I thought I should feel,” he said. On August 1, 2026, Brent wi

Jugie "John" Bernardo in his white Novice habit. When Jugie “John” Bernardo first met the Augustinians, he expected to learn about community but instead, he found himself learning about his own restless heart. That discovery has become one of the defining themes of his vocation. As John prepares to profess his first vows as an Augustinian friar on August 1, 2026, he says the greatest gift of formation has has been discovering that authentic community begins with authentic sel

For some Augustinian friars, the call to serve did not start in the parish, classroom, or monastery but instead on the battlefield and in the barracks.

Doubt is a common experience during discernment. I am not worthy. I don’t have what it takes. I am not like other people who joined a religious order. I could never make the necessary sacrifices. Interestingly, these were some of the same doubts Augustine faced in the events leading up to his conversion. He felt strongly drawn to the faith and the idea of surrendering all to follow Christ. Yet he felt paralyzed by his own weaknesses and attachments to his old way of life. “

On December 17, 2025, Father Joseph Farrell, O.S.A. one of Pope Leo XIV’s closest friends in Rome and newly-elected leader of the worldwide Augustinian Order, joined the TODAY Show hosts to discuss his relationship with the first-ever American pope and about Pope Leo's approach to the papacy.

In November 2025, Augustinian Vocation Director Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A., joined "The Inner Life" radio host Patrick Conley for a discussion about Vocations on Relevant Radio. Listen to the show recording (embedded above) to listen to content about: What is a vocation? Why doesn't God make our vocation clear to us all the time? Fr. Tom's discernment story Overcoming obstacles when discerning religious life Helping parents encourage their children to discern their vocations

Before he became Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost was a young man with a gift for mathematics and a longing to serve. That longing...