The Father of Western Monasticism, and the creator of the Rule for monastic life, he had a passion for developing the monastic order into a family unit helped transform the status quo of monastic life and developed a way of life still visible to this day. Stay tuned as we discuss the early life, his first introduction to monastic life, a failed first attempt at being abbot that left his followers trying to poison him, and finally how all of this affected his creation of the Rule and how he implemented it in the first Benedictine monastery. Time Stamp: Early Life: 0:40 Into the Wilderness: 1:34 First Abbot: 4:24 The Rule: 6:22 The Rule in Practice: 9:09 Living Legacy: 12:18 Saint Benedict born in Nursia is called the Father of Western Monasticism because his life set the example on how to live for many over 1500 years. It all started when he left his studies at Rome for a more dedicated Christian life. After finding a place in a small city, his reputation began to grow out of hand as he performed miracles and lived a life worth taking note of. Finally this became too much for him and he set off for Subiaco, but before he got there he met a man named Romanos. Being introduced to the monk's habit, he would fully embrace the idea of monasticism for three years. After three years he would give his first try at being an abbot. After a failure to launch, and almost being poisoned, he went back to his cave. But now his reputation had grown again and after more people came to learn from him, he became abbot again, this time creating 12 homes with 12 monks at each. It was at this time that he would create The Rule of Saint Benedict. With the creation of this rule, he moved to Monte Cassino to create his ideal monastery. All men living under one house, under one rule, as one family. Saint Benedict would forever change the way monasticism was practiced in the West. For over 1500 years monks have followed the Rule outlined by Benedict. Although covered only briefly here to point out some of the basic details, you will find in the resources section many areas to dive into St Benedict at a much deeper level. You will also find in the resources tab more information on the Order of Saint Benedict, the Catholic Encyclopedia's description of Benedict's life, some Youtube videos connected to Benedict, and finally a free translated version of Saint Benedict's Rules. Resources: -Ryan, William Granger, and Eamon Duffy. "Saint Benedict." In The Golden Legend: Readings on the Saints, 186-93. Princeton University Press, 2012. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7stkm.54. -Ford, H. (1907). St. Benedict of Nursia. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved December 22, 2019 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02467b.htm -https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=556#wiki -https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Benedict-of-Nursia -Gardner, Edmund G. The Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great: Re-Edited with an Introduction and Notes. Evolution Publishing, 2010. -St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries at Project Gutenberg, translated by Leonard J. Doyle http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/50040 -https://youtu.be/OyC9D5CEhrQ “Who is St. Benedict?” By: KansasMonks -https://youtu.be/e3C39BqPJGU “The Rule of St. Benedict” By: MountAngelAbbey -https://www.osb.org/our-roots/ The official website of the Order of Saint Benedict If you feel any of the pictures in the video go against fair use, or they are yours and you want credit please let us know. Otherwise, all pictures should be covered under Public Domain and Fair Use categories.

• published: 04 Jan 2020
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