Training Center dedicated to Pope Leo XIV established in Florence

A new international training and research institution has been established in Florence under the name Pope Leo XIV International Study Center. Created by the Order of Saint Augustine, the initiative aims to promote education in social and political life inspired by Christian humanism and Augustinian thought.

The Center is based in the Augustinian convent of Santo Spirito and was officially presented at Palazzo Vecchio. It will collaborate with several academic institutions, including the Faculty of Theology of Central Italy, the Patristic Institute in Rome, the SAGAS Department of the University of Florence, and Villanova University in the United States. The Center will officially begin its activities on January 1, 2026.

Among the first initiatives announced is a series of three lectures by theologians Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, Giuseppe Caruso, and Donatella Pagliacci, focusing on Saint Augustine’s reflections on peace and social life in the light of the Gospel of John.

Father Joseph L. Farrell, the newly appointed General Prior of the Augustinian Order, read the official decree of the Vatican Secretariat of State recognizing the new institution. “With the creation of the Pope Leo XIV Study Center, we will be able to offer programs, conferences, and events that bring together scholars and students from around the world to explore the relationship between culture, theology, and society,” he said.

The initiative has received support from both civic and academic institutions. Francesco Salvestrini, professor at the University of Florence, emphasized the Center’s goal of promoting dialogue among the components of contemporary society, while Mayor Sara Funaro expressed pride that Palazzo Vecchio was chosen to host the launch.

Visiting the Augustinian community at Santo Spirito, newly re-elected Tuscan Governor Eugenio Giani praised the project as “a cultural and civic initiative rooted in one of the most symbolic places of the Renaissance.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, conveyed Pope Francis’s appreciation in a letter, describing the Center as “a providential initiative to promote the Church’s social teaching” and offering the Pope’s blessing to those involved in the project.

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