Augustinian priests from Villanova University and across the Philadelphia area will award the province's highest honor, the St. Augustine Medal, later this month.

This year's recipient, who is one of the most recognized people on the planet, will be conspicuously absent. Pope Leo XIV, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, OSA, was due to be in Philadelphia before his unexpected promotion earlier this year.

Augustinian Father Michael DiGregorio said that for the past year, plans for the St. Augustine Medal dinner were moving along nicely, and then May 8 happened . A man DiGregorio and his fellow friars have known for decades and their 2025 Saint Augustinian Medal recipient – Cardinal Prevost — became Pope Leo XIV .

"Cardinal Prevost would have been able to be there," DiGregorio sai

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