St. Augustine (354-430), one of the most influential thinkers in the history of Christianity, was also a struggling North African pastor who had a flair for teaching and who meditated deeply on the mysteries of the human heart. This study examines a little-known side of his career: his work as a teacher of candidates for baptism. This reconstruction of Augustine's catechumenate provides fresh perspectives on the day-to-day life of the early church and on the vibrancy and eloquence of Augustine the preacher and teacher. In this new edition, both the text and notes have been revised from top to bottom to better reflect the state of contemporary scholarship on Augustine, on liturgical studies, and on the catechumenate, both ancient and modern. This edition also includes new findings from some of the recently discovered sermons of Augustine and incorporates new perspectives from recent research on early Christian biblical interpretation, debates on the Trinity, the evolution of the liturgy, and much more.