I figured that--seeing as two of my trips were to Benedictine monasteries, and my school is a Benedictine university--it might be useful to present a brief biography of St. Benedict for those who do not know much about him. Most of the information I have is from St. Gregory's The Life of St. Benedict.
Benedict was born in 480 AD in Nursia, Italy. He had a twin sister named St. Scholastica. In his teen years, he went to study in Rome. He was disgusted by the lifestyles of those in the city and did not see a need to study pagan writers of old (not as old as they are now obviously). When he could take it no more, he fled the city to become a hermit in a cave near Subiaco.
As a hermit, he had a mentor monk who made sure that he had a place of seclusion for prayer, as well as food. However, he became famous for his holiness, working several miracles and overcoming lust by jumping into, and rolling around in, a bunch of thorns. Eventually, he was asked by a community of monks to become their abbot. However, these monks were used to being very relaxed in their disciplines, and St. Benedict would have none of it. The monks grew to dislike him, going so far as to try to poison him. They slipped poison into his wine, but the cup shattered when Benedict blessed it. Benedict then left these unfaithful monks, returning to his cave at Subiaco.
Benedict's reputation only continued to grow, and he eventually attracted people to himself. Benedict and his followers then formed the first Benedictine monastery at Subiaco. However, a priest who lived in the area and was jealous of Benedict tried to poison him (which failed), and then tried to seduce his monks with prostitutes (which also failed). Benedict decided it would be best for him to leave, so he headed to Monte Casino and founded a new monastery. At this time, he founded a total of twelve monasteries, and his reputation for holiness and miracles continued to grow.
Benedict cast out demons, raised people from the dead, read souls, converted barbarians, and was an all around saintly man. He is most famous for the rule of life he wrote for his monks (aptly titled The Rule of St. Benedict). His monks would go on to preserve much of Western thought through the Middle Ages (ironic considering Benedict's view of Western thought), so we have the Benedictines to thank for the preservation of Greek and Roman writings. Benedict died in 543 AD, but his influence and legacy have lived on even to the modern day.
If you want to learn more about St. Benedict, I would highly recommend reading St. Gregory's book about him (it is not that long).
St. Benedict, Pray for us.
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