Who we are
The Leo XIV International Study Centre ETS was erected in August 2025, with the assent of the Holy Father, within the Order of Saint Augustine, as a Study Centre dedicated to Pope Leo XIV, by Decree of the then Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, Fr Alejandro Moral Antón, in agreement with the Prior Provincial of the Augustinian Province of Italy, Fr Gabriele Pedicino.
In December 2025, the Study Centre was subsequently established as a Third Sector Entity (Ente del Terzo Settore – ETS) through a notarial deed, thereby acquiring a stable legal status recognised under Italian civil law.
The Centre is based at the Augustinian Convent of Santo Spirito in Florence.
Origins and inspiration
The Leo XIV International Study Centre was established in response to the appeals addressed by Pope Leo XIV to the whole People of God, in which he recalled the urgency of recovering the teaching of the Social Doctrine of the Church as an essential instrument for understanding and addressing the challenges of the contemporary world.
The inspiration of the Centre is deeply rooted in the Augustinian tradition, placing the human person at the centre, together with the relational dimension of social life and responsibility for the common good, within a context marked by profound cultural, political and economic transformations.
Our mission
The Leo XIV International Study Centre ETS is a non-profit organisation pursuing, on an exclusive or principal basis, civic, solidarity-based and socially beneficial purposes.
Its mission is to promote, at both national and international level, a formation for political life in its highest sense, understood as service to the common good, as a search for unity, and as a responsible commitment to the construction of social life.
The Centre seeks to contribute to overcoming a culture of suspicion and fear that fosters forms of exacerbated individualism, by encouraging instead a vision that is open, dialogical and oriented towards the common good, capable of valuing the relational dimension of the human person and shared responsibility.
In pursuing these aims, the Leo XIV International Study Centre ETS operates in an apolitical and non-partisan manner, in full respect of the principles of pluralism, dialogue and freedom of research, promoting formation for political life as a space for cultural reflection and service to society.
What we do
In accordance with its identity and statutory purposes, the Study Centre translates its principles into concrete activities of formation, research and cultural production.
The Centre promotes programmes of formation in political, economic and international culture, addressed to those who wish to acquire critical tools for understanding the dynamics of the contemporary world and to offer their contribution, at various levels, to social life.
Alongside formation, the Centre develops scientific research activities of particular social interest, including in support of the definition, implementation and evaluation of public policies and intervention strategies, fostering dialogue between theoretical reflection and institutional practice.
The Centre also organises conferences, seminars, debates and public forums, oversees the production and dissemination of cultural and educational content, including through publications and digital tools, and operates in collaboration with public and private bodies, educational institutions, universities and associative networks, both in Italy and abroad.
Beneficiaries and interlocutors
The Study Centre addresses its activities to those who wish to acquire a political formation in international relations in order to place their service at the disposal of social life. In particular, it is addressed to lay people, deacons, priests, seminarians, bishops and, more generally, men and women religious.
The Centre’s interlocutors include institutions, the Italian and international political and cultural community, the economic system, and the world of associative networks, with the aim of creating and strengthening bonds of dialogue, cooperation and solidarity.
Scientific and academic cooperation
In pursuing its objectives, the Leo XIV International Study Centre ETS avails itself, as a matter of priority, of the cooperation of the Theological Faculty of Central Italy and the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum, both of which are also referred to in the Decree of erection of the Centre.
In line with this approach, the Study Centre promotes and develops scientific and academic cooperation with universities, research centres and educational institutions in Italy and abroad, through agreements and understandings aimed at the implementation of shared activities in study, research and formation.
The Centre thus presents itself as an open institution in dialogue with the international academic world, oriented towards the construction of stable and qualified networks of cooperation on issues concerning international politics, global relations and the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Governance
The Leo XIV International Study Centre ETS adopts a model of governance founded on democratic participation, transparency and responsibility. All offices are unremunerated, and the organisation is structured into governing, executive and scientific bodies, as well as thematic and advisory committees, in accordance with the provisions of the Statute, which is published in full on the website.
