Without a doubt, one of the most influential figures in the history of the Catholic Church is Saint Benedict of Nursia. A man from Italy, he grew up in a wealthy family quite comfortably. Over time though, his surroundings in his higher education pushed him away from that lifestyle, and he left his life of comfort and retreated to a secluded part of the mountains nearby. As the shepherds nearby learned about his wisdom, he and others realized that he had a talent for leading and advising others spiritually. He built several monasteries and religious communities around himself and became one of the most powerful religious figures in his time. He went on to posthumously become one of the Church Fathers, a rank reserved for very few in the Church. Through his remarkable character and life, Saint Benedict assisted in both temporarily inspiring monks at that time and reshaping the history of the Church and the world.
Saint Benedict is most commonly known as the father of western monasticism, but this was not one of his original goals in life. Initially, Saint Benedict started his career by studying in Rome, but when he was exposed to the absence of dedication to studies and the carefree attitudes of the students who surrounded him, he was incredibly dismayed and distressed (“Saint Benedict of Nursia”). As a result of this disappointment that he felt there, he fled to the mountains nearby in Subiaco, Italy, where he lived as a hermit for three years (“Saint Benedict of Nursia”). During this time he began spiritually leading others-such as shepherds that were nearby. It is important to note that his rules and ways of living were never meant for the clergy, but instead for the general layperson (Ford). What is most incredible about his influence is that Saint Benedict himself never became a priest and never aspired to start a new religious order, it was simply through his profound ideas that he was able to change the world around him (“St. Benedict of Nursia”). Although Saint Benedict did not see his calling at first, he faithfully obeyed God’s command though his life, following wherever God called him to go. This is a simple way that every Catholic is able to follow in Saint Benedict’s footsteps.
The rule of Saint Benedict was applicable to not only monasteries, but families as well, which helped to make his rule so influential and able to be followed, even now. Benedict heavily focused on the qualities that he wanted monks to have, such as obedience, humility, silence, but also doled out guidelines for those in every day life (Theisen). He eventually went on to be in control of several monasteries because of his sage spiritual wisdom and understandable rules that were simple to apply to life. He goes into detail about when to pray and when to do manual work (a big theme to Benedict was Ora et Labora, to pray and to work) for monks and even goes into detail about clothes, sleeping arrangements, food, drink, and more (Theisen). The universality of his writing themes allowed every human who came across it, whether religious or not, to have a connection in some way to what Benedict was saying. His advice for living a holier life also led to living a better, more fulfilling life. Benedict’s importance cannot be overemphasized, and this is proven by the fact that the church moved his feast day from March 21, which always fell on a day in Lent or Holy Week, to July 11 so that he could be fully appreciated and celebrated (Miller). Through Benedict’s universal themes and amiable personality, he was able to relate and extend his wisdom to people for all ages.
Despite being one of most significant Church figures in history, his personal life is actually not well documented. It is known that he lived around 480 to 547, meaning that he died at approximately the age of 67 (“St. Benedict of Nursia”). By today’s standards, this is not an exceptionally long lifetime, but what he did with his time on Earth is far more than the average person. There is only one authentic account of his life, and it is found in the second volume of Pope Gregory I’s Dialogues, which was written in 593. Interestingly, even this account does not go in depth about Benedict himself, but it gives information about what he taught based on what Benedict’s followers provided about him (“Benedict of Nursia”). The account provided a general image of the kind of man Benedict was and included some major miracles that he performed, but did not offer a chronological account of his life (“Benedict of Nursia”). Historians have established that Benedict was the son of a Roman noble and he had a twin sister, Saint Scholastica (Ford). They have also established that he enjoyed his life in Rome before he ran away from his comfortable life to become a monk (“Benedict of Nursia”). Benedict seems to have enjoyed his early life in luxury, and then sacrificed it all to become closer to God. Although there is not an extensive amount of documentary about Benedict, his influences are strong enough to not be forgotten.
Because of Benedict’s incredible spiritual fortitude, his strength and piety are revered by many in the Catholic Church. Benedict has been given patronage for a plethora of things, such as he is against poison, temptations, and witchcraft. Additionally, he is patron saint of agricultural workers, civil engineers, dying people, Europe, farmers, various diseases, Italian architects, Italy, people in religious orders, schoolchildren, and servants (“Benedict of Nursia”). Through the grace of God, people are able to pray to Saint Benedict for intercession and assistance in overcoming their obstacles in life.
Benedict’s life offers many stories for inspiration and offers some explanation as to why he is the patron saint of so many things. For example, not all that came in contact with Benedict were grateful for his company. This dislike that some felt even went as far as to cause Pope Gregory I to document an assassination attempt on Saint Benedict. According to Gregory I, the first monks who worked under the rule of Benedict hated his rules so much that they actually tried to poison him by putting poison on the glass of wine that would be offered to Benedict. However, because of the cultural custom to bless the glasses that they drink from, when Benedict blessed his drink, the glass shattered (“Father of Western Monasticism”). Upon the glass shattering, Benedict realized that the monks did not appreciate his presence, so he chose to dismiss himself from them but made sure to inform them that they were forgiven for their actions (“Father of Western Monasticism”). This would not be his only brush with death by poison. In another instance, because of his fame, other clergymen around him grew envious and attempted to murder him by poisoning a loaf of bread. Unfortunately, for the assailants, their slick and cowardly undertaking failed. Again, Benedict was so disturbed that he relocated (“Father of Western Monasticism”). As a result of these attempts to take his life, and their failures, he has patronage against poison and he is patron saint of dying people and ones with sicknesses.
Incredibly, his brushes with death were not his only instances of divine intervention. From the time of his attempted murders on, his miracles became increasingly frequent. The miracles began occurring after he had become leader of 12 monasteries, and he had made another for himself and very few select people, including two who would become saints, Maurus and Placidus (“Benedict of Nursia”). One recurring theme in his miracles is water. In one miracle, he found a fountain high on a mountain that would provide sustenance for the monks that lived there, in another miracle he caused an iron axe head that fell into water to float, and in another instance, he sensed that one of his monks, Placidus, was drowning and the person he sent to help was miraculously able to walk on water to help save Placidus (“Benedict of Nursia”). These are not the limits of God’s presence in Benedict’s life, either. There are several more instances of God or God’s grace assisting Benedict in some way.
Benedict was definitely an influential character in history, not only from a Catholic perspective, but also from a completely secular point of view. Benedict’s monasteries helped to build communities in a time where many divisions were being formed, as this was the Middle Ages when many wars tore apart people and religions. Beyond this, Benedict also helped to form he idea of a written constitution, with limits placed on authorities by laws, and even planted the seed of democracy even in non-democratic societies (“Saint Benedict”). Because of his ideas being passed on by those who followed his rule, both his ideas and the word of Christ were allowed to live on in a time where there was no certainty of survival for any faith or ideas.
The pope who took his name, Pope Benedict XVI, said that “With his life and work, Saint Benedict exercised a fundamental influence on the development of European civilization and culture” (“Benedict of Nursia”). The development of European civilization would have been completely different had it not been for Benedict’s revolutionary ideas and those willing to adhere to his rule and pass on his words.
Although Saint Benedict may have come across as a difficult man to some, his mind was one of the most significant in modern history. His life began as simple and pleasant, but as time went on he began to stress faith and moderation highly, leading him to leave his life of comfort to become a monk. It was them that Benedict realized his true calling and began writing and leading other monks around him into his rule. God never abandoned him, and he made miracles abundant in Benedict’s lifetime, proving Benedict’s holiness. Benedict’s contributions to society, although they were purely intended for the laypeople of the church, can be applied to the family and any person and this has helped for his message to be carried as far as it has been.