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In 596 AD, Pope St. Gregory the Great sent the monk Augustine along with other Italian monks and priests from his own monastery on the Celian Hill in Rome to (re)convert this country:

According to the Life of St. Benedict, the monks living in St. Benedict’s first monastic community tried to poison him.  

The leader of the monastic community is known as the Abbot. This term comes from a Greek term that means:

According to the Prologue, Benedict intends the monastery to serve as a school for the Lord’s service and for his monks to translate the teachings of the Gospel into action.

The history of Benedictine missionary activity in Europe rests upon a special historical connection between Rome and this place:

In the beginning of the film, “Of Gods and Men,” a woman takes her daughter to the monk who serves as a doctor. In addition to medical care, the monk gives the women:

The individual chosen by the Abbot to serve as his assistant in the monastery is…

Early monasticism in the desert was primarily a male practice, and female monastics were largely unknown until the construction of monasteries for women in the Middle Ages.

Although St. Benedict never used the expression, Benedictine monasticism is often said to revolve around the concepts of “ora et labora.” What do these Latin words mean in English?

The end of Christian persecution by the Roman Empire served as the catalyst (cause) that inspired the first Christian monks to flee to the desert in order to live a more authentic spiritual life free of the superficial Christianity of the cities.