St. Benedict is often called the father of monasticism in the Roman Catholic Church, but his influence extends beyond monasteries--the rule of life he wrote 1,500 years ago is still a pillar of Christian spirituality today.

He was the twin brother of St. Scholastica—the two were born in 480 to a noble family in Italy. Benedict was educated in Rome, but as a young man became repulsed by the laziness and promiscuousness of his classmates. In about 500, he left the city to live in the countryside about 40 miles away.

There, he met a hermit living nearby, St. Romanus, who saw something special in Benedict. He encouraged the young man to take on a life of solitude, and offered him the use of a cave near his hermitage in an area known as Subiaco, and Benedict lived there for three years. Romanus would visit him on a regular schedule, and brought him food.

Soon, people in the region started hearing stories of Benedict’s holiness and wisdom, and many sought him out. When the abbot of a nearby monastery died, the monks asked Benedict to lead them. He agreed, and imposed on them a strict way of life. They soon changed their minds about him and tried to poison him.

On the first attempt, they poisoned his drink. Benedict received the cup, and when he blessed it, the cup broke (notice this cup in the painting of him from the Basilica). Undeterred, they poisoned his bread next. When he received it, he blessed it and a raven flew by and stole it away (the raven symbolizes him in the stained glass window below from the chapel in Dillon Hall).

Benedict returned to Subiaco and gathered people around him, founding 12 different monasteries and transforming the region into an area of learning and spirituality.

In 525, Benedict left Subiaco and settled in Monte Cassino between Rome and Naples. He destroyed a temple to Apollo there and evangelized the people living nearby. He eventually built the famous monastery, and wrote a rule of life for its monks. This “Rule of St. Benedict” has shaped Christian spirituality and monastic life for centuries.

The Rule offers practical advice for living a Christ-like life and for the administration of a monastery. It is based on common sense and encourages moderation, especially in asceticism and discipline. Prayer (especially with the psalms), study, work, obedience, stability, zeal, community, and hospitality are benchmarks of the Rule, which can be summed in the famous phrase, ora et labora, “pray and work.”

Benedict grew in holiness and became famous for his holiness and wisdom. He gave advice to kings and popes and could read peoples’ consciences. He had the gift of prophesy and worked miracles.

He died on March 21 in 543, but this date almost always falls in Lent, so the Church moved his memorial to July 11. He was named co-patron of Europe in 1964, and is patron saint of students.

The relics of St. Benedict rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and he is depicted there in a wall mural. His image also stands in a stained glass window in the chapel in Dillon Hall.

St. Benedict, your common-sense rule of life still shapes Christian spirituality—pray for us!