Saint Benedict, in full Saint Benedict of Nursia, was a founder of the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and father of Western monasticism; the rule that he established became the norm for monastic living throughout Europe. In 1964, in view of the work of monks following the Benedictine Rule in the evangelization and civilization of so many European countries in the Middle Ages, Pope Paul VI proclaimed him the patron saint of all Europe.
Background
He was born at Nursia, a township in the Sabine hills of Umbria, Italy, about 480. The two main sources for his life and work are Pope St. Gregory the Great's second book of Dialogues, written about 597, and St. Benedict's own Holy Rule, the code drawn up for the monastic family which he founded, which still remains the basis for Benedictine congregations all over the world.
Education
At the age of fourteen he was sent to Rome to complete his studies, accompanied by his "nurse" Cyrilla.
Career
Disgusted by the idleness, luxury, and vice of the capital, and conscious of his own growing religious convictions, Benedict fled from Rome and settled for a time in the town of Enfide (now known as Affile), where he was welcomed by a group of "pious people. " Here, Gregory the Great tells us, Benedict performed his first miracle - the mending of a sieve accidentally broken by Cyrilla. Embarrassed by his reputation as a wonder-worker, Benedict decided to abandon the world completely and live as a hermit. Accordingly he made his way alone to a cave at Subiaco, in the valley of the Anio. There he was given the monastic habit by a monk called Romanus, who also supplied him with food. In his cave, Benedict remained in entire solitude for three years, living the life of extreme austerity associated with the monks of the Egyptian desert. But his solitude was invaded, first by a priest who brought him dinner one Easter day, and then by many who sought instruction from him, and even "hastened to put themselves under his government" (Dialogues II). For a time, indeed, he consented to become abbot of Vicovaro, but left when the undisciplined monks of that community found his rule too strict and attempted to poison him - a move frustrated by another miracle, the poisoned cup's disintegrating as Benedict made the sign of the cross over it. At Subiaco, Benedict began his organization of monastic life, the chief features of which were the Divine Office chanted in choir, study, and manual labor. Here, too, he was joined by his two most famous disciples, Maurus and Placid (both of whom became saints). Yielding at last to the spiteful persecution of Florentius, a subdeacon who envied his reputation, Benedict left his twelve little communities at Subiaco, and journeyed to Monte Cassino. This property, on the top of the now famous Cassino hill, was probably donated to Benedict by a nobleman, though probably not by Placid's father, Tertullus, as the twelfth-century chronicler Peter the Deacon suggests in his Acts of Placid. Here Benedict settled for the rest of his life, destroying the idolatrous groves on the hilltop, and building, as his community grew once again, the first of the great Cassino monasteries. It is worth noting that Cassino, the cradle of Benedictinism, was destroyed three times: once by the Lombards at the end of the sixth century; again by the Saracens in 883; and a third time by the Allied Air Force in 1944. While at Monte Cassino, Benedict wrote his Holy Rule. This remarkable document, consisting of seventy-three short chapters and a prologue, became the unchallenged norm of monastic use in Western Europe for about five hundred years. It is notable for its lenience, as compared with the extreme austerity practiced by the monks of the East. It dwells much on the common life as a means of sanctity, and on the virtues of humility and obedience. It is strongly monarchical in character; the abbot is responsible only to God for all his judgments, although provision is made for deposition of bad abbots by the local bishop. It lays down in great detail the form which the Divine Office is to take, together with the monastic horarium, which includes set periods for study and manual labor. The diet, clothes, shoes, and other equipment of the monks are all prescribed, and stress is laid on complete common ownership of everything. Seniority is carefully defined. If the community is large, responsibility is to be delegated to a prior and to deans; the abbot is to consult the senior monks on all important matters, although he is not bound to accept their advice. The Rule is intensely personal, and tells us much about its author. It is written in the lingua vulgaris, the vernacular of the time, but shows profound study of the Scriptures; some phrases suggest an acquaintance with the Latin classics. It reflects Benedict's own character in its combination of Roman discipline and Christian love. Within a few years of the author's death it had superseded all other monastic rules in the West. St. Gregory gives his readers many instances of the miracles worked by St. Benedict at Monte Cassino. The most important historically is one which records a visit that the Gothic king Totila paid to Monte Cassino in about 543. St. Benedict penetrated Totila's disguise, and prophesied the king's second capture of Rome and his death within ten years. Another touching legend concerns Benedict's meeting with his sister, Scholastica, who had herself taken the veil and founded a community not far from her brother's. They met on a day that was clear and cloudless. When the time came for them to part, Scholastica was reluctant to have her brother leave her as she felt this would be their last meeting. She begged him to stay the night, but he, being rather strict about rules, refused. As Scholastica bent to pray, a terrible storm suddenly started. Benedict then felt it was God's will that they spend the night talking. Three days later Benedict saw a dove and knew that his sister's soul had ascended to heaven. As he tells us himself, Benedict's intention was to found "a school of the Lord's service. " That "school" was to play an important part in preserving Christian civilization through the Dark Ages, and in shaping the later growth of medieval society. His feast day is July 11.