The Lion Returns to Rome
Pope Leo XIV, the Leonine Papacy and the Augustinian Tradition
By (author) Ambrose Ih-ren Mong
Hardback (No longer our product)
(August 2026)
ISBN: 9780227181058
6 x 9 inches
Price: $65.00
On back order
Mong explores the far-reaching influence of St. Augustine on the papacies of Leo I and Leo XIII and projects how Augustinian thought could shape the emerging priorities of Leo XIV. Through this exploration, the book argues that understanding Augustine’s enduring presence in Catholic theology is key to discerning where the Church is headed.
On May 8, 2025, Cardinal Robert Prevost became the first pope from the United States, choosing the papal name Leo XIV. As the fourteenth bearer of a name which translates from Latin to ‘lion’, his choice foregrounds long-standing values of authority, vigilance and spiritual courage in Catholic history. The Lion Returns to Rome: Pope Leo XIV, the Leonine Papacy and the Augustinian Tradition by Ambrose Mong begins by tracing the symbolic legacy of leonine imagery in the Bible, showing what this complex motif reveals about majesty and paradoxes in the Scriptures.
The Lion Returns to Rome then intimately ties Pope Leo XIV to Augustine’s spiritual pilgrimage, from restlessness and searching towards deep peace with God. Mong explores the far-reaching influence of St. Augustine on the papacies of Leo I and Leo XIII and projects how Augustinian thought could shape the emerging priorities of Leo XIV. Through this exploration, the book argues that understanding Augustine’s enduring presence in Catholic theology is key to discerning where the Church is headed under new leadership.
Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1 Leonine Imagery in Scripture
Chapter 2 Augustine of Hippo
Chapter 3 Leo the Great
Chapter 4 Legacy of Leo XIII
Chapter 5 Leo XIV: An Augustinian Pope
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index
Ambrose Mong, Ph.D., serves as an assistant parish priest at Holy Cross Church, Hong Kong. He is also a research associate at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and a part-time lecturer at the Holy Spirit Seminary and Saint Francis University in Hong Kong. His publications with James Clarke & Co. include A Better World is Possible: An Exploration of Eastern and Western Utopian Visions (2018), Sino-Vatican Relations: From Denunciation to Dialogue (2019), and Christianity and Western Literature: A Story of Sin and Salvation (2023).
- By (author) Ambrose Ih-ren Mong
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