St Benedict of Nursia

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St Benedict was born at Nursia, a small town near Spoleto in the province of Umbria, Italy. He was the son of a Roman nobleman, and had a twin sister, St Scholastica. Around his twentieth birthday, he gave up his life in Rome studying for his career as a nobleman to become a servant of God. Accompanied by his nurse, he moved to Enfide (about 40 miles from Rome) and settled there. It was at Enfide that his first miracle was reported, which led him to flee his new-found fame for the life of a hermit.

The Benedictine Rule which he drew up was not written for monks, although this is the common view. He intended his rules to be followed by ordinary lay people. It was not until much later that the Catholic Church imposed monasticism on those who followed Benedict's Rules.

St Benedict was canonised as a saint in 1220 and in 1964, Pope John Paul VI proclaimed him the "principal, heavenly patron of the whole of Europe". His feast day is celebrated on 11th July each year, primarily in the Roman Catholic Church, but also in the Lutheran Church. In the Byzantine Rite (eastern Catholic and Orthodox) the feast is celebrated on 14th March each year.

If you're looking for a way to commemorate this event, you might be interested in this article: Commemorations with Cross Stitch

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