Benedict of Nursia was a sixth-century abbot who founded twelve monasteries and gave Christian monasticism its lasting foundation in Western Europe. In the early ninth century, Louis the Pious, son of the emperor Charlemagne, declared that Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries would be the standard of organization for all monastic institutions.
It is hard to overestimate Benedict’s role in western civilization. Benedictine monks are responsible for the preservation of ancient texts that have survived to our present time. They were pioneers in agricultural methods, cattle breeding, hospitals, and centers for education. Monastic communities were the model for early universities.
Monks around the world celebrate St. Benedict on March 21, his traditional feast day, the day of his death in 547 AD. However, because March 21st almost always falls during Lent, the western Church moved his feast day to July 11 which was, according to some early texts, his birthday and, according to Benedictine tradition, the day in 672 that relics of St. Benedict were transferred to a French monastery. (That account was later disputed by the finding of Benedict and Scholastica’s tombs in the rubble of Monte Cassino after the abbey’s bombing during World War II.) Eastern Orthodox Christians still celebrate Benedict’s feast day in March.
For his historic role as the “Father of Western Monasticism,” St. Benedict was declared a co-patron of Europe (along with Saints Cyril and Methodius). He is also the patron saint of students. The Rule of St. Benedict is loved because of its practicality, clear and direct text, and balance—between discipline and forgiveness, between authority and mutual support. The Rule’s most resounding message to its generations of readers is Benedict’s injunction to “prefer nothing to the love of Christ” (RSB 4).
Improbable Benedictine 