CROWN POINT, Ind. β May 10 is a special date for Terry Deffenbaugh. On that date 50 years ago, he became an Augustinian priest.
That title took on extra meaning for the resident of Saint Anthony Majestic Care in Crown Point, Indiana, on Thursday, when Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, 69, became the first Augustinian and American-born pope.
Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, is head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. But he's been Deffenbaugh's leading light for quite some time already.
Before his papacy, Prevost was the prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, a community of friars formed in the 13th century dedicated to poverty, service and evangelization.
On its own, to be of the same religious order as the pope is special, Deffenbaugh, 78, said. But the connection goes further.
For about four years, Deffenbaugh and Prevost β whom the Augustinian priest calls "Bob" βΒ lived together, along with other Augustinian brothers and priests, in Chicago while Prevost was enrolled at Catholic Theological Union on his way to becoming ordained.
Terry Deffenbaugh, a priest of the Augustinian Order, poses for a photo Saturday in the Saint Anthony Majestic Care chapel in Crown Point, Ind. Deffenbaugh lived for several years with Richard Francis Prevost in Chicago.
Prevost earned his Master of Divinity degree from CTU in 1982, seven years after Deffenbaugh. A recently ordained priest, Deffenbaugh was still living in the area when Prevost began his studies at CTU in the late 1970s, and, as is custom, Augustinians lived together.
The details surrounding how Prevost ended up as his roommate have become fuzzy for Deffenbaugh over the years, but he remembers the future pope's signature Italian dishes he'd cook for the house. His father, Louis Prevost, was of French and Italian descent.
There are 17 Augustinians who live at St. Anthony, including Deffenbaugh. Twelve are priests, while the other five are brothersΒ β non-ordained members of the Augustinian Order.
"We're all proud as could be," Deffenbaugh said, sitting in the nursing home's chapel on Saturday. "Being an Augustinian, we all know each other very well. Probably everybody, in some way, has been with (Prevost). Some have been to Rome to see him. So, we all know him."
Recent vision problems have prevented Deffenbaugh from conducting mass, he said, but the dedicated Augustinian has found ways to meet residents where they areΒ β a kind of ministry that Pope Francis was known for and that many have speculated Pope Leo XIV will continue given his background as a missionary for the poor. As an ordained priest, Deffenbaugh can still anoint people and hear confessions, but his main activityΒ β and favorite thing to doΒ β is walking around the assisted living community and talking to residents.
"As an Augustinian, you take the vow of poverty, chastity and obedience," Deffenbaugh said. "I literally own nothing."
It's not literally nothing, but Deffenbaugh's home on the third floor of the assisted living wing reflects his simple Augustinian means. He owns what he needs to get by. A twin bed rests in the middle of his small room. Other than a small television and a landline phone on a little coffee table, he owns no technology. Small religious figurines scatter the surfaces and walls. He has more crosses than pairs of socks.
Deffenbaugh guesses Prevost may live a similar lifestyleΒ β common for Augustinians around the world.
Terry Deffenbaugh was ordained as a priest on May 10, 1975Β β 50 years to the day he shared his story about the connection he has with Pope Leo XIV.
"He's aΒ marvelous guy," Deffenbaugh said of Prevost. "My feeling about him, couldn't have been a better choice. He's a very gifted person, a caring person."
Deffenbaugh hopes Pope Leo will continue the trajectory on which Pope Francis guided the Catholic Church.
"He (Pope Francis) kind of opened up the church," Deffenbaugh said. "I hope that he continues that. ... I think Bob will try and help move the church forward slowly, not radically."
Deffenbaugh confirmed Prevost is a big baseball fanΒ β and added another testimony to his friend's allegiance to the Chicago White Sox, a debate that has taken social media by storm since initial reports indicated that the pontiff supported the Cubs.
Terry Deffenbaugh points out artifacts in his quaint, modest room at Saint Anthony Majestic Care Saturday in Crown Point, Ind. "As an Augustinian, you take the vow of poverty, chastity and obedience," Deffenbaugh said. "I literally own nothing."
"He always had time to talk to talk to anybody," Deffenbaugh said. "He didn't just go with the people in charge. ... He's that kind of a caring person. I think he's going to continue doing that. I think he's going to choose people who he knows can be good for the churchΒ β the whole church."
Deffenbaugh doesn't expect his old friend will stop by Crown Point if he makes a visit to Chicagoland, speculating that he would elect to spend his time closer to his roots in Chicago. But if Pope Leo does pay a visit, he'll be greeted as an Augustinian. Before anything else, Deffenbaugh said he'd give his not-so-new leader a hug.
"If he'd stop in, we'd just sit down and talk like this," Deffenbaugh said. "It's not like, 'Oh my God, you're the pope.' We'd all just go up and embrace him."
"Bob is family. And will always be," Deffenbaugh said. "Pope or not, he's family."
A portrait of Pope Francis hangs in a hallway at Saint Anthony Majestic Care in Crown Point, Ind.
