SAINT BENEDICT - OUR PATRON

The life of Saint Benedict is told rather simply, yet his example and writings are filled with wisdom for all ages, including the present.

Benedict was born in Nursia, Italy, around the year 480, and was the son of a noble family. As a youth, he went off to Rome to study. At that time, Rome was showing signs of moral and political decay. Turning away from such corruption, Benedict discontinued his studies and withdrew from Rome and went into solitude at about the age of 20.

For three years Benedict lived as a hermit in a cave near Subiaco. Through a life of fasting and prayer, he sought to grow closer to God. Being such a holy person, the local people would seek him out. They wanted him to pass on the message of Christ to them during a time in history that was greatly in need of the Gospel. Some became his disciples, whom he organised into 12 groups of ten.

Benedict was the subject of jealousy, so much so that an attempt was made on his life. Legend has it that a raven swooped down to prevent him from consuming a poisoned cup.

In the year 529, after having lived these years as a monk, Benedict established a monastic foundation where men who wanted to live a life in common and together seek out the Lord could come to dwell. This new "school of the Lord" came to rest on a hill near Cassino in Italy, and so the monastery came to be known as Monte Cassino. Here Benedict wrote his Rule, that is, a set of principles to be followed in the daily lives of his monks. Benedict guided the community as the father, or Abbot, until his death around the year 547.

Since this humble beginning of the Benedictine monks, that is, those vowing to live their lives under the Rule of St Benedict, the religious order has spread throughout the world down to the present day. From Monte Casino many other Benedictine communities have been established, for both men and women.

When his end drew near, Benedict was taken into the chapel, received Holy Communion and died. He was buried with his sister, St. Scholastica. His feast day used to be 21 March (date of his death) but is now universally kept on 11 July (date of his translation). He is regarded as the Patriarch of Western Monasticism and is a Co-Patron of Europe.