People, Locations, Episodes

Saint Augustine, Doctor, and Philosopher born

Saint Augustine

The birth of Saint Augustine in 354 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black North African Saint, Philosopher, and Doctor.

He was the eldest son of Saint Monica of Saint Augustine. Aurelius Augustinus (his birth name) was born in the municipium of Thagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) in Roman North Africa. His mother, Monica, was a devout Christian; his father, Patricius, was a Pagan who converted to Christianity on his deathbed.  Scholars believe that Augustine's ancestors included Berbers, Latins, and Phoenicians. He considered himself Punic and "an African, writing of Africa."

Augustine was educated in Rome and a Milanese by baptism. He spent his early years in what is now known as Souk-Ahras, Algeria. Often called Augustine of Hippo, "The knowledgeable one," by the Roman Catholic Church, he was considered by Evangelical Protestants to be (together with the Apostle Paul and the Bible) the theological fountainhead of the Reformation teaching on salvation and grace.

His famous autobiography, “Confessions,” spotlights the tormented self-deprecation that underpins Augustine’s theology and flavors over a century of Christian faith. Saint Augustine still inspires many Christians all over the world.

Augustine left some information about the consciousness of his African heritage in his writings. For example, he refers to Apuleius as "the most notorious of us Africans," to Ponticianus as "a countryman of ours, insofar as being African," and to Faustus of Mileva as "an African Gentleman"  Saint Augustine died on August 28, 430, as vandals were besieging the city of Hippo; that is now the date that Catholics honor him.