The Order of Saint Augustine: a numerical overview
August 28, 2026
The Church today commemorates the memorial of St. Augustine (354-430), whose rule was adopted by Order of Saint Augustine, to which Pope Leo XIV belongs.
According to the online edition of the Annuario Pontificio, the institute had 2,341 friars, 1,782 of them priests, in 2024. Founded in 1244, the order—formerly known as the Order of Hermits of Saint Augustine—has 395 religious houses.
The Catholic Encyclopedia and New Catholic Encyclopedia chronicle the history of the order’s spectacular rise and decline. At its height in the Middle Ages, the order had 30,000 members. Five thousand Augustinian friars died in the Black Death.
The French Revolution and subsequent anti-clerical regimes decimated the order. Membership, which had fallen to 20,000 in 1753, plunged to 2,050 by 1908. Membership rose to 3,755 in 1954 and 4,548 in 1967.
Since 1967, the number of friars has steadily fallen to 3,780 in 1974, 3,203 in 1990, 2,888 in 2000, 2,789 in 2010, and 2,616 in 2020.
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