biography
| name: |
Benedict of Nursia, St
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (c.480–c.547)
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| biography:
| The founder of Western monasticism, born in Nursia near Spoleto, C Italy. He studied at Rome, and became convinced that the only way of escaping the evil in the world was in seclusion and religious exercise; so as a boy of 14 he withdrew to a cavern or grotto near Subiaco, where he lived for three years. The fame of his piety led to his being appointed the abbot of a neighbouring monastery at Vicovaro, but he soon left it, as the morals of the monks were not strict enough. Multitudes still sought his guidance; and from the most devoted he founded 12 small monastic communities. He ultimately established a monastery on Monte Cassino, near Naples, afterwards one of the richest and most famous in Italy. In 515 he is said to have composed his Regula monachorum, which became the common rule of all Western monasticism. He was declared the patron saint of all Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964. Feast day 11 July. |
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