Benedict of Nursia
6th-century Italian Catholic saint and monk / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Benedict of Nursia (Latin: Benedictus Nursiae; Italian: Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was an Italian Catholic monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old Catholic Churches.[3][4] In 1964 Pope Paul VI declared Benedict a patron saint of Europe.[5]
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Benedict of Nursia | |
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Founder of the Benedictine Order, Exorcist, Mystic, Abbot of Monte Cassino, and Father of Western Monasticism | |
Born | (480-03-02)2 March 480 Nursia, Kingdom of Italy |
Died | 21 March 547(547-03-21) (aged 67) Mons Casinus, Eastern Roman Empire |
Venerated in | All Christian denominations which venerate saints |
Canonized | 1220, Rome, Papal States by Pope Honorius III |
Major shrine | Monte Cassino Abbey, with his burial Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, near Orléans, France |
Feast | 11 July (General Roman Calendar, Lutheran Churches, Anglican Communion) 14 March (Eastern Orthodox Church) 21 March (pre-1970 General Roman Calendar) |
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Patronage |
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Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco in present-day Lazio, Italy (about 65 kilometres (40 mi) to the east of Rome), before moving further south-east to Monte Cassino in the mountains of central Italy. The present-day Order of Saint Benedict emerged later and, moreover, is not an "order" as the term is commonly understood, but a confederation of autonomous congregations.[6]
Benedict's main achievement, his Rule of Saint Benedict, contains a set of rules for his monks to follow. Heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian (c. 360 – c. 435), it shows strong affinity with the earlier Rule of the Master, but it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness (ἐπιείκεια, epieíkeia), which persuaded most Christian religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, Benedict's Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Giuseppe Carletti regarded Benedict as the founder of Western Christian monasticism.[7]