About Tolle Lege Day
The Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova embarks on its fifth-annual Augustinian giving day. It is no coincidence that we’ve chosen to host our giving day on April 24th, the feast of the Conversion of St. Augustine. We’ve named our giving day Tolle Lege (Take up and Read) Day, calling to mind the words that moved Augustine to pick up the Scriptures and find his way to faith. On this day, Augustinian religious and lay communities will come together with one mind and one heart to celebrate the Augustinian Way of Life and all those who share in it. This day is a 24-hour fundraising event will provide an opportunity to generate awareness of the Augustinian Charism to a broad community, create excitement about our wide Augustinian connections and provide financial support to sustain the friars’ lives and their ministries.
Our Goal
On this fifth Tolle Lege Day, our goal is all about participation, and gifts of any amount are welcome and encouraged. We seek to engage the collaboration of alumni of our current/former schools, parishioners of our current/former parishes; friends and relatives of the Augustinians; and others connected to the friars. Your gift to the Augustinian Fund helps us to ensure a strong presence of Augustinians in our schools, parishes, and ministries now and into the future.
About the Augustinian Defenders of the Rights of the Poor (A.D.R.O.P.)
The Augustinian Defenders of the Rights of the Poor (A.D.R.O.P.), the praxis arm of the Office of Justice and Peace, was founded in 2004 by Fr. John Deegan, O.S.A. Fr. Deegan brought leaders, service providers, and volunteers together to assess the needs of the poor in South Philadelphia and began to match those needs with known resources. Since that time 150 volunteers and leaders have affected the lives of over 1,000 families living in the South Philadelphia area. To learn more about A.D.R.O.P., please visit: www.rightsofthepoor.org.
Your Impact
As a Mendicant Order, much of what we Augustinians are about as religious, committed to service of the Church and of God’s people, is made possible through the generosity of individuals who wish to collaborate with us. You impact the care of our elderly and infirm friars living in St. Thomas of Villanova Monastery, and the education and training of our newest Province members. Your kindness also supports the various Augustinian ministries that serve the marginalized and those in need.