St. Benedict

St. Benedict was born at Nursia in 480, a small town near Spoleto, in Italy. His name means blessed. He was the son of a Roman noble and was very wealthy and had a privileged childhood. The names of his mother and father are not known but he had a twin sister named Scholastica, who is also a saint.

While still in his youth, he lived with his parents in Rome where he spent his time attending schools and advancing his studies. During his time in Rome, there was a lot of evil and wickedness in the city. He left school around A.D. 500 because of the wickedness and the lack of discipline that was demonstrated by his fellow students. He wanted to get away from it all. So he not only left school but ran away from home and hid in the mountains near Subiaco, that were about forty miles from Rome. For the next three years Benedict lived there as a hermit in a cave on the side of the cliff. It is reported that he was fed by a raven from time to time. His only visitors that came to his cave during his three years was a monk named Romanus that he met on his way up to the cave. He was his only one of the few connections and communications that Benedict had with the outside world. It is said that he also brought Benedict food because he knew where Benedict was hiding and would lower food down into the cave for him. During his time in the cave , he established his life of discipline that would later become the Benedictine Order.

As time went on, many young men and monks heard about Benedict and they found their way to the mountain and asked if they could stay with him. Soon he had more than 140 companions to keep him company and this was the beginning of what is now known as the Benedictine Order. They built a house to live in and stayed there, praying ,planting crops, feeding the poor, and teaching school. From the Rule of Saint Benedict it says "Just as there exists an evil fervor, a bitter spirit, which divides us from God and leads us to hell, so there is a good fervor which sets us apart from evil inclinations and leads us toward God and eternal life. No one should follow what he considers to be good for himself, but rather what seems good for another. Let them put Christ before all else; and may he lead us all to everlasting life." The Order is committed to helping the por and serving others like Jesus and they put him above everything. Also, Benedict was very strict and disciplined and he expected the same for his