Armando J. Lovera on Pope Leo XIV: “A shepherd who builds community through friendship”
Armando J. Lovera, a close friend of Pope Leo XIV since his years in Peru, reveals how the first Augustinian Pope in history lives community, friendship and authority.
This testimony is part of the same video published by the Order of Saint Augustine on its official YouTube channel on September 12, 2025, in which several religious share their experience with Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.
The testimony of a man who calls Pope Leo XIV a “soul friend”
In this second article, Armando J. Lovera, born in Iquitos (Peru), a mission land entrusted to the Augustinians, offers a deeply personal testimony. In 1992 he entered the Augustinian house of formation of Saint Thomas of Villanova in Trujillo, then led by Prevost. There a lasting friendship was born with the man who is now Pope Leo XIV, so deep that he describes him with an expression rarely heard in Church language, but full of truth: “a soul friend.”
From that closeness, Lovera offers a decisive key to understanding what Pope Leo XIV is like: a man who builds community through friendship and lives authority as communion.
How does Pope Leo XIV live community? A real experience, not a theory
Pope Leo XIV is deeply community-minded. His way of being and of exercising his ministry cannot be understood without the experience of feeling supported by a community.
It is not just an acquired trait but an essential dimension of the Augustinian charism, which he has embodied and actively promoted wherever he has served.
Even in his ministry as a bishop, he has been able to build real bonds of closeness. He does not create cold structures, but spaces of living fraternity.
Because, as Armando J. Lovera recalls, community is not an idea but an everyday experience: talking, laughing together, sharing a meal, missing one another… small gestures that, in the words of Saint Augustine, melt hearts together.
Community and friendship: keys to Pope Leo XIV’s pastoral style
In Pope Leo XIV, community cannot be separated from friendship. The two are deeply intertwined.
His relationship with others springs from a deeper source: his friendship with Christ, lived especially in the Eucharist. From there comes his way of relating to others, of accompanying them and of serving.
This also transforms how he understands authority in the Church: not as distance but as closeness; not as a function but as a relationship.
“He cannot imagine service except among friends” might sum up his experience.
A Pope who unites hearts: Augustinian ardor in action
This way of living community reflects what might be called Augustinian ardor: the ability to create communion, to unite hearts through what is human in order to lead them to God.
It is not just a personal quality but a living expression of a spirituality that understands the Church as a fraternity.
That is why, even in his relationship with the College of Cardinals, Pope Leo XIV has insisted on this dimension: they are not simply collaborators but friends called by Christ, who share together the burden —and the grace— of ministry.
Authority as communion: a key for today’s Church
Pope Leo XIV’s vision redefines the exercise of authority in a Gospel and Augustinian light.
Authority does not divide; it unites. It does not impose; it gathers. It does not dominate; it accompanies.
In a Church and a society marked by fragmentation, this kind of leadership appears as a deeply relevant answer: building unity through closeness, friendship and shared life.
At a time when many are asking what Pope Leo XIV is like…
…and what sets him apart as a shepherd, the testimony of Armando J. Lovera offers an essential key: he is a man who lives community as friendship and authority as communion.
Keys to understanding what Pope Leo XIV is like
What is Pope Leo XIV like in his relationships with others?
Pope Leo XIV is approachable and deeply community-minded. According to those who know him, he builds relationships based on friendship, listening and shared life.
What role does community play for Pope Leo XIV?
Community is central to his life. He understands it not as a structure but as an everyday experience of fraternity, characteristic of Augustinian spirituality.
Why is it said that Pope Leo XIV lives friendship as part of his ministry?
Because his relationship with others is born of his friendship with Christ. From there he understands service as a mission shared among friends.
How does Pope Leo XIV understand authority in the Church?
He understands it as communion: a service that unites, accompanies and builds bonds, not as a position of power or distance.
What does Armando J. Lovera highlight about Pope Leo XIV?
He highlights his ability to build community, his personal closeness and an authentic friendship that has deeply marked his life, to the point of calling him a “soul friend.”