Benedict of Nursia

Who they were

Benedict was born around 480 into a noble family of Norcia; the basilica of St Benedict stands where tradition places his house. Sent to Rome to study, he was repelled by the dissolute young men he found there and left, living first at Enfide and then for three years as a hermit in a cave at Subiaco, the heart of today's Sacro Speco monastery.

He then went to Monte Cassino, where among the ruins of a pagan acropolis he and his disciples built the first abbey. Around 530 he wrote his Rule, 73 chapters that begin 'Listen, my son, to the master's teaching, and incline the ear of your heart', calling monks never to despair of God's mercy and to join prayer to work: 'Idleness is the enemy of the soul.' His life is told by St Gregory the Great in the second book of the Dialogues. He is the twin brother of St Scholastica.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: Benedict has been honoured as a saint since his death. St Gregory records many miracles attributed to him, none formally examined; the Vatican News account calls the Rule his most lasting miracle. He is patron of Europe.

Why that counted as sanctity

In a dark age after the fall of Rome, Benedict built 'a school of the Lord's service' where men prayed, worked, studied and welcomed the poor and pilgrims. His Rule of prayer and work, listening and obedience, shaped the monasteries that carried faith and learning through the Middle Ages.

Connected on this site

• Romanus of Subiaco Saint Teacher
  “He is remembered as having assisted and influenced Saint Benedict of Nursia, when the latter had just begun his life as a hermit.” — Wikipedia
• Saint Maurus Saint Pupil
  “Saint Maurus (French: Maur; Italian: Mauro) (512–584) was a Benedictine monk best known as the first disciple of Benedict of Nursia.” — Wikipedia
• Saint Placidus Saint Pupil
  “546 (or 541) in Messina) was a Christian monk and martyr, and a disciple of Benedict of Nursia.” — Wikipedia
• Scholastica Saint Brother or sister
  “480 – 10 February 543) was an Italian Christian consecrated virgin and the sister of Benedict of Nursia.” — Wikipedia
• Bernard degli Uberti Saint
  “He is often considered the third founding father of the order alongside Benedict of Nursia (the order was a branch of the Benedictines) and Giovanni Gualberto.” — Wikipedia
• Berno of Cluny Saint
  “Berno placed the monastery under the Benedictine rule (founded by Benedict of Nursia and reformed by Benedict of Aniane).” — Wikipedia
• Bridget of Sweden Saint
  “Bridget is one of the six patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia, Cyril and Methodius, Catherine of Siena and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.” — Wikipedia
• Edith Stein Saint
  “Edith Stein was admitted as a student to the study of religion to the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Cologne on 25 November, on the first vespers of the feast of Saint Teresa of Ávila, and received the religious habit as a novice in April 1934, taking the religious name Teresia Benedicta a Cruce (Teresia in…” — Wikipedia
• John Cassian Saint
  “Heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian (c.” — Wikipedia
• Methodius of Thessaloniki Saint
  “In 1980, the first Slav pope, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia.” — Wikipedia
• Saint Cyril the Philosopher Saint
  “In 1980, the first Slav pope, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia.” — Wikipedia
• Sylvester Gozzolini Saint
  “He remained in his hermitage with a determination to found a religious congregation and based it upon the Order of Saint Benedict after having a dream of Benedict of Nursia.” — Wikipedia