Saint Benedict of Nursia

Monastic
Saint

Italy

Born: c. 480
Died: c. 547; traditionally on March 21
Feast Day: March 21 or July 11

"If we desire to dwell in the tabernacle of His kingdom, we cannot reach it in any way, unless we run thither by good works."

--The Benedictine Rule

What little we know about Benedict's life comes from Book 2 of the Dialogues of Pope St. Gregory the Great.

Born to a good family and educated in Roman schools, Benedict withdrew from the corruption of Rome to live as a hermit and grew famous for his sanctity. Disciples flocked to him, and, though he at times returned to seclusion, he served as abbot for one monastery, preached conversion to the pagans, and founded a total of 12 monastic houses. Recognizing the dangers of a solitary life, he wrote his Rule as a guideline for religious men to live together in harmony.

The date of Benedict's death is unknown.

The Benedictine Rule is highly significant in that it not only governed monastic behavior and responsibilities in general, but charged the monks to read holy writings every day. This led to monks writing as well as copying and preserving books. Western historians owe a great debt to Benedict and the Benedictines for the ancient documents they preserved and the medieval historical sources they created.

Encyclopedia Article on Saint Benedict
Encyclopedia Article on the Benedictines
Saint Benedict Picture Gallery
Saint Benedict in Print
Saint Benedict on the Web
The Keepers of Knowledge

Monasticism
Hagiography
Early Europe


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