Benedict was of a noble family in Nursia, near Rome, and had a twin sister, Scholastica, also a saint and co-founder with him.
Sent
to Rome for his education, Benedict abhorred the licentiousness of his
companions in the city and secretly left Rome. He found his way to the
village of Enfide, where, far from the din, he realized that he was
called to a life of solitude.
Climbing higher to a rugged, wild
place called Subiaco, he met a hermit, Romanus, who giving him a habit
of sheepskin, initiated him in the hermitical life in a cave high up in
the mountain.
In this desolate place, Benedict spent three years
in total solitude, once a day lowering a basket to Romanus who brought
him bread and kept the secret of his whereabouts.
As the fame of
the sanctity and the miraculous powers of the young recluse spread,
disciples gathered. Benedict set up a system of twelve wooden
monasteries, containing each twelve monks headed by a superior, himself
directing all from his cave.
Once these communities where
established, Benedict moved on to Monte Cassino. At the site of a big
temple, he built two chapels, and around the sanctuary there gradually
arose the greatest abbey the world has ever known.
Profiting
from the experience at Subiaco, Benedict now no longer placed those who
flocked to him in separate houses but gathered them in one
establishment, ruled over by priors and deans under his general
supervision. Here he also built guest rooms, for as Monte Cassino was
nearer Rome, not only laymen but dignitaries came to consult with the
holy founder.
It was most certainly at this period that Benedict composed his rule of monastic life, which was to influence all of Europe.
At
Mount Cassino, famous for his sanctity and miracles, Benedict far from
confining his care to his monks alone, extended it to the population in
the surrounding country. He relieved the distressed, healed the sick,
distributed alms, nourished the poor, and is said to have raised the
dead on more than one occasion.
The great saint, who had foretold
so many things, also foretold his own death. He notified his disciples,
and bid them dig a grave six days before the end. As soon as his burial
site was ready, he was struck with a fever and on the last day received
Holy Communion. Then, lovingly supported by his spiritual sons, he
expired, standing on his feet in his chapel, his hands uplifted to
heaven.
Photo by: High Contrast
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