Benedict of Nursia

Benedict of Nursia was the founder of the great monastic order which is named after him. This Italian layman had a more profound effect on the Catholic church than many far more learned. Men from all walks of life came to him for advice and spiritual help, including shepherds, priests, bishops, and kings.

He was born about 480 in the city of Nursia. His parents were wealthy and well-placed. They sent him to Rome for schooling while barely a teen-ager, but the immorality and decadence were too much for him. Rather than submit, he ran to the hills of Subiaco and lived in a cave for the next three years. He was probably only 15 years old at the time. A monk from a nearby monastery brought him a little food occasionally, letting it down by a rope. Fantasies of battles with demons and sensual passion beset him, but he emerged victorious over them all. Once, the temptation to leave his grotto and return to seek female companionship almost overpowered him; but instead he rolled naked on the thorny ground until the fire was quenched. Shepherds who lived in the area at first mistook him for a wild beast, but later came to revere him as a holy man of God.

As his fame increased, he was asked by the monks of the monastery to become their abbot. This he did, until they asked him to leave because his regimen was too strict for them. He then resumed his hermitic life. Many sought him, to join with him in the rigorous pursuit of the “highest form of Christianity”; others sent their sons to live and study with him. There eventually arose 12 monasteries, each having 12 monks, all under his supervision. After some trouble with a local priest in 529, he left Subiaco and moved to an even more rugqed place called Monte Cassino. Here he founded a cloister on the ruins of a temple of Apollo. Through his preaching, miracles, and holy life, many of the pagans in the area were converted. He left his solitary life and became more of a missionary and an administrator.

Increasing numbers of men eagerly sought him out, submitting themselves to his rules in hopes of attaining the same peace and power which were so evident in his life. A barbarian king, Totila, who by conquering the Romans was the master of all Italy, is said to have prostrated himself before Benedict, begged his blessing, and accepted his reproof and exhortations.

Benedict had a twin sister, named Scholastica, who entered the monastic life. She established a convent near Monte Cassino, offering to young women the same life of isolation and devotion that attracted so many men to her brother. They saw each other once a year, meeting for prayer on the mountain side. She died in March of 543, and Benedict followed her a few weeks later.

Most of the information about the life of Benedict comes from a biography written by Gregory the Great about 594. He attributes many miracles to Benedict, including prophecies, healings, and even a raising of the dead. A novice monk was supposedly killed by a falling wall during the building of the monastery, but raised to life after a brief prayer by Benedict, in the presence of many witnesses.

The rule which Benedict gave to his monastery has proven to be his most significant contribution. It was not entirely original with him as he borrowed the best of Augustine and others who preceded him. Nevertheless, it bears the stamp of his own experience as both a monk and an overseer of monks. Although the Roman Catholic church recognizes other rules, such as that of St. Francis, Benedict’s is still the basis of the whole monastic system. It has stood the test of time for 1500 years.

Monte Cassino was destroyed by the Lombards in 583, and has been rebuilt and destroyed several times since. At one time its power extended over 400 towns and villages, the abbot being baron of Naples. Later its power and influence dwindled to almost nothing.

Catholics collect and worship the relics of great saints such as Benedict. His skeleton is claimed to be in two different places in Italy, at Fleury and at Monte Cassino. The fact that this is impossible does not dissuade those who honor his cult.