332-387
- Born in North Africa.
- When she was a teenager, she was caught drinking a lot of wine in secret. A maid caught her, at which time she became so embarrassed that she swore she would never drink again.
- She married a pagan leader who had no moral restraints and cheated on her since that was normal for Roman leaders. Subsequently he had a violent nature, but he didn’t feel compelled to harm her because she was so gentle and kind in return. Many wives who were beaten at that time wondered how she always escaped the beatings. She told them that she always waited until her husband calmed down before defending her positions on certain matters.
- She had three children: Augustine, Navigius, and Perpetua.
- Both her husband and her mother-in-law became Christians in 371, then he died one year later.
- Her son Augustine was following in his father’s footsteps taking on adulterous relationships and using false philosophies to corroborate his way of life. She stayed in close contact with him, even following him at times to schools where he taught.
- She prayed for nearly 15 years and with many tears for his conversion.
- She met and became good friends with St. Ambrose, the bishop ofMilan. He was fighting a heresy which claimed that Jesus was just a really special man and not equal to God. This heresy was so bad that those who adhered to it were killing faithful Catholics. Despite the turmoil in the area, he met Augustine many times in university debates over philosophy. He challenged Augustine, who himself was extremely intelligent, to rethink the philosophies that he had put his faith in.
- Finally in 386, Augustine had a deeply felt conversion to the faith and became one of the most brilliant theologians of the Catholic Church.
- She left Augustine in Italy in the hands of God and journeyed home. On her way home, she died knowing that she had fulfilled the mission God had given her.
- See “Authentic Femininity, Lived” for references
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