By I. Inojales, Helen Castaño | 12:06 AM August 26, 2026
DAUIS, Bohol — More than two decades before he became Pope Leo XIV, then-Fr. Robert Francis Prevost, OSA quietly visited Bohol in February 2004, leaving behind a little-known connection between the island and the Augustinian pontiff.
The visit is being remembered as Boholanos prepare for the Feast of St. Augustine on August 28, particularly in Panglao, where the saint is honored as the town’s patron.
At the time of his visit, Fr. Prevost was serving as Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, the religious order founded on the spirituality of St. Augustine. As head of the Augustinian Order worldwide, he regularly visited Augustinian communities in different parts of the world.
During his Philippine visit in 2004, Prevost came to the Augustinian Monastery of the Resurrection in Tabalong, Dauis, Bohol, where Augustinian contemplative nuns reside. His visit was part of a canonical visitation to the community.
Photographs from the occasion show a much simpler chapter in the life of the man who would later become pope.
There were no papal ceremonies or large crowds. Prevost was then simply an Augustinian priest carrying out his responsibilities to the religious order.
During his stay in Bohol, he also visited Hinagdanan Cave, one of the province’s best-known natural attractions. The photographs captured him experiencing a small part of Bohol years before his name would become known around the world.
His journey would later take him from missionary work and Augustinian leadership to the episcopate and the College of Cardinals.
On May 8, 2025, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th pope of the Catholic Church and chose the name Leo XIV.
His election has since given renewed significance to his 2004 visit to Bohol.
For the faithful preparing to celebrate St. Augustine’s feast, the old photographs serve as a reminder of a unique chapter in the island’s Church history: before he became Pope Leo XIV and successor to St. Peter, Robert Prevost had already walked among the people and visited an Augustinian community in Bohol.
A quiet visit in February 2004 has now become a treasured memory of the province’s connection with the Augustinian pope.
