ST. BENEDICT OF NURSIA (DIED MARCH 21ST)
A Romanesque Icon of St. Benedict of Nursia By Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) Blessed Original Feast-day of St. Benedict of Nursia, Great Western Saint, a Father of Monasticism! Famous for establishing western monasticism and the pattern of work and prayer that built many city centers throughout the European wilderness, St. Benedict is hailed as one of the most foundational patrons of Western Christianity, next to St. Paul and St. Gregory the Great! VITA St. Benedict was born in the Italian city of Nursia in the year 480. When he was fourteen years of age, the saint’s parents sent him to Rome to study. Unsettled by the immorality around him, he decided to devote himself to a different sort of life. At first Saint Benedict settled near the church of the holy Apostle Peter in the village of Effedum, but news of his ascetic life compelled him to go farther into the mountains. There he encountered the hermit Romanus, who tonsured him into monasticism and directed him ...
