View source for Benedictines

{{Short description|Roman Catholic monastic order}}
{{other uses|Benedictine (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|O.S.B.||OSB (disambiguation){{!}}OSB}}
{{Redirect|Black Monks|the Black Friars|Dominican Order}}

{{Infobox organization
| name                = Order of Saint Benedict
| native_name         = Ordo Sancti Benedicti
| native_name_lang    = la
| logo                = Coat of Arms of the Order of Saint Benedict (simple).svg
| logo_size           = 120
| logo_caption        = Coat of arms of the order
| image               = Saint Benedict Medal icon.svg
| image_size          = 150
| caption             = Design on the obverse side of the [[Saint Benedict Medal]]
| abbreviation        = O.S.B.
| formation           = {{start date and age|df=yes|529}}
| founder             = [[Benedict of Nursia]]
| founding_location   = [[Subiaco Abbey]]
| type                = [[Catholic religious order]]
| headquarters        = [[Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino]]
| num_members         = 6,802 (3,419 priests) {{as of|2020|lc=y}}
| leader_title        = [[Abbot Primate]]
| leader_name         = [[Jeremias Schröder| Jeremias Schröder, OSB]]
| main_organ          = [[Benedictine Confederation]]
| parent_organization = [[Catholic Church]]
| website             = {{URL|https://osb.org/}}
}}

The '''Benedictines''', officially the '''Order of Saint Benedict''' ({{langx|la|Ordo Sancti Benedicti}}, abbreviated as '''O.S.B.''' or '''OSB'''), are a mainly [[Christian mysticism|contemplative]] [[Christian monasticism|monastic]] [[Religious order (Catholic)|order]] of the [[Catholic Church]] for men and for women who follow the [[Rule of Saint Benedict]]. Initiated in 529, they are the oldest of all the religious orders in the [[Latin Church]].<ref>[https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02443a.htm  Almond, Joseph Cuthbert. "Order of St Benedict" The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 16 July 2024</ref> The male religious are also sometimes called the '''Black Monks''', especially in English speaking countries, after the colour of their [[religious habit|habits]], although some, like the [[Olivetans]], wear white.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11244c.htm Almond, Joseph Cuthbert. "Olivetans." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 10 April 2019</ref> They were founded by [[Benedict of Nursia]], a 6th-century Italian monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule. Benedict's sister [[Scholastica]], possibly his twin, also became religious from an early age, but chose to live as a [[hermit]]. They retained a close relationship until her death.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jAPnDqXxVmMC&dq=Saint+Scholastica&pg=PA5 Mary Richard Boo OSB and Joan M. Braun OSB, ''Emerging from the Shadows: St. Scholastica'', in ''Medieval Women Monastics''], (Miriam Schmitt OSB and Linda Kulzer OSB, eds) The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, 1996  {{ISBN|9780814622926}}</ref>

Despite being called an order, the Benedictines do not operate under a single hierarchy. They are instead organized as a collection of autonomous monasteries and convents, some known as [[abbey]]s. The order is represented internationally by the [[Benedictine Confederation]], an organization set up in 1893 to represent the order's shared interests. They do not have a [[superior general]] or [[motherhouse]] with universal jurisdiction but elect an [[Abbot Primate]] to represent themselves to the [[Holy See|Vatican]] and to the world.

In some regions, Benedictine [[nuns]] are given the title [[Dame]] in preference to [[sister (religious)|Sister]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stanford |first1=P. |title=Dame Felicitas Corrigan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/oct/23/guardianobituaries |access-date=5 October 2023 |publisher=UK Guardian |date=2003 |quote=Dame Felicitas - the title Dame is given to English Benedictine nuns in preference to Sister ...}}</ref>

==Historical development==
{{Main|Benedict of Nursia}}
[[File:Fra Angelico 031.jpg|thumb|left|Saint Benedict of Nursia (c.&nbsp;480–543); detail from a [[fresco]] by [[Fra Angelico]] (c.&nbsp;1400–1455) in the [[San Marco, Florence|Friary of San Marco]] [[Florence]]]]

The monastery at [[Subiaco, Lazio|Subiaco]] in Italy, established by [[Benedict of Nursia]] {{circa}} 529, was the first of the dozen monasteries he founded. He later founded the [[Abbey of Monte Cassino]]. There is no evidence, however, that he intended to found an order and the [[Rule of Saint Benedict]] presupposes the autonomy of each community. When Monte Cassino was sacked by the Lombards about the year 580, the monks fled to Rome, and it seems probable that this constituted an important factor in the diffusion of a knowledge of Benedictine monasticism.<ref name="Catholic">{{cite CE1913 |wstitle=Benedictine Order |last=Alston |first=Cyprian |volume=2}}</ref>

Copies of Benedict's Rule survived; around 594 [[Pope Gregory I]] spoke favorably of it. The rule is subsequently found in some monasteries in southern Gaul along with other rules used by abbots.<ref>[https://www.osb.org/our-roots/a-brief-history-of-the-benedictine-order/ Oliver OSB, Richard . "A Brief History of the Benedictine Order", OSB.org]</ref> [[Gregory of Tours]] says that at [[Basilica of Saint-Martin d'Ainay#Ainay Abbey|Ainay Abbey]], in the sixth century, the monks "followed the rules of Basil, Cassian, Caesarius, and other fathers, taking and using whatever seemed proper to the conditions of time and place", and doubtless the same liberty was taken with the Benedictine Rule when it reached them. In Gaul and Switzerland, it gradually supplemented the much stricter Irish or Celtic Rule introduced by [[Columbanus]] and others. In many monasteries it eventually entirely displaced the earlier codes.<ref name="Catholic"/>
[[File:Abadía de Montecassino.jpg|thumb|Abbey of [[Monte Cassino]]]]

By the ninth century, however, the Benedictine had become the standard form of monastic life throughout the whole of Western Europe, excepting Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, where the Celtic observance still prevailed for another century or two.<ref name="Catholic"/> Largely through the work of [[Benedict of Aniane]], it became the rule of choice for monasteries throughout the Carolingian empire.<ref name="Theisen">{{Cite web|url=https://www.osb.org//gen/benedictines.html|title=The Benedictines: An Introduction by Abbot Primate Jerome Theisen OSB. Liturgical Press.|website=www.osb.org|access-date=19 July 2021|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326025422/https://www.osb.org//gen/benedictines.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Monastic scriptoria flourished from the ninth through the twelfth centuries. Sacred Scripture was always at the heart of every monastic scriptorium. As a general rule those of the monks who possessed skill as writers made this their chief, if not their sole, active work. An anonymous writer of the ninth or tenth century speaks of six hours a day as the usual task of a scribe, which would absorb almost all the time available for active work in the day of a medieval monk.<ref name="CE1913_Scriptorium">{{cite CE1913 |last=Huddleston |first=Gilbert Roger |wstitle=Scriptorium |volume=13}}</ref>

In the Middle Ages monasteries were often founded by the nobility. [[Cluny Abbey]] was founded by [[William I, Duke of Aquitaine]], in 910. The abbey was noted for its strict adherence to the Rule of Saint Benedict. The abbot of Cluny was the superior of all the daughter houses, through appointed priors.<ref name=Theisen/>

One of the earliest reforms of Benedictine practice was that initiated in 980 by [[Romuald]], who founded the [[Camaldolese]] community.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y |wstitle=Camaldulians |volume=5|pages=79–80 |first=Edward Cuthbert |last=Butler |author-link=Edward Cuthbert Butler}}</ref> The [[Cistercians]] branched off from the Benedictines in 1098; they are often called the "White monks".<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Cistercians|volume=6|pages=393–395|first=Edward Cuthbert|last=Butler|author-link=Edward Cuthbert Butler}}</ref>

The dominance of the Benedictine monastic way of life began to decline towards the end of the twelfth century, which saw the rise of the [[mendicant]] [[Franciscans]] and nomadic [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]].<ref name=Theisen/> Benedictines by contrast, took a vow of "stability", which professed loyalty to a particular foundation in a particular location. Not being bound by location, the mendicants were better able to respond to an increasingly "urban" environment. This decline was further exacerbated by the practice of appointing a commendatory abbot, a lay person, appointed by a noble to oversee and to protect the assets of the monastery. Often, however, this resulted in the appropriation of the assets of monasteries at the expense of the community which they were intended to support.<ref>{{CE1913 |inline=1 |last=Ott |first=Michael |wstitle=Commendatory Abbot |volume=4}}</ref>

===Austria and Germany===
[[File:Melk - Stift (2).JPG|thumb|[[Melk]] Abbey]]
[[Saint Blaise Abbey, Black Forest|Saint Blaise Abbey]] in the [[Black Forest]] of [[Baden-Württemberg]] is believed to have been founded around the latter part of the tenth century. Between 1070 and 1073 there seem to have been contacts between St. Blaise and the Cluniac [[Abbey of Fruttuaria]] in Italy, which led to St. Blaise following the Fruttuarian reforms. The [[Empress Agnes]] was a patron of Fruttuaria, and retired there in 1065 before moving to Rome. The Empress was instrumental in introducing Fruttuaria's Benedictine customs, as practiced at Cluny, to [[Saint Blaise Abbey, Black Forest|Saint Blaise Abbey]] in [[Baden-Württemberg]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QP8fNo5UNIYC&dq=Abbey+of+Fruttuaria&pg=PA126 Robinson, I. S., ''Henry IV of Germany 1056–1106'', Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 126]{{ISBN| 9780521545907}}</ref> Other houses either reformed by, or founded as priories of, St. Blasien were [[Muri Abbey]] (1082), [[Ochsenhausen Abbey]] (1093), [[Göttweig Abbey]] (1094), [[Stein am Rhein]] Abbey (before 1123) and [[Prüm Abbey]] (1132). It also had significant influence on the abbeys of [[Alpirsbach Abbey|Alpirsbach]] (1099), [[Ettenheim]]münster (1124) and [[Sulzburg]] ({{Circa|1125}}), and the priories of Weitenau (now part of [[Steinen, Baden-Württemberg|Steinen]], {{Circa|1100}}), [[Bürgel Abbey|Bürgel]] (before 1130) and [[Kandern#Sitzenkirch|Sitzenkirch]] ({{Circa|1130}}).

===France===
[[File:Eglise abbatiale Saint-Benoit - Ensemble sud - Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine - APMH00003809.jpg|thumb|[[Fleury Abbey|Abbatiale Saint-Benoit]], southern aspect as in 1893]]
[[File:Basilique Saint-Martin d'Ainay I.jpg|thumb|Basilica of Saint-Martin d'Ainay]]
[[Fleury Abbey]] in [[Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire]], [[Loiret]] was founded in about 640.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Butler|first=Alban|title=The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints, Volume 3|year=1845|location=Dublin|pages=218}}</ref> It is one of the most celebrated Benedictine monasteries of Western Europe, and possesses the relics of St. Benedict. Like many Benedictine abbeys it was located on the banks of a river, here the [[Loire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abbaye-fleury.com/index2.htm |title=Abbaye de Fleury |access-date=2010-06-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816070746/http://www.abbaye-fleury.com/index2.htm |archive-date=2010-08-16 }}</ref> Ainey Abbey is a ninth century foundation on the [[Lyon]] peninsula. In the twelfth century on the current site there was a [[Romanesque architecture|romanesque monastery]], subsequently rebuilt.

The seventeenth century saw a number of Benedictine foundations for women, some dedicated to the indigent to save them from a life of exploitation, others dedicated to the [[Perpetual Adoration]] of the [[Blessed Sacrament]] such as the one established by [[Mechtilde of the Blessed Sacrament|Catherine de Bar]] (1614–1698).<ref name=silver>[https://www.cenacleosb.org/mother-mectilde "Mother Mectilde De Bar", Silverstream Priory]</ref> In 1688 Dame Mechtilde de Bar assisted [[Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien]], queen consort of Poland, to establish a Benedictine foundation in [[Warsaw]].<ref>{{Cite web | url =https://www.mechtylda.info/zyciorys/fundacja-w-warszawie/ | title = Fundacja w Warszawie| author = | website =mechtylda.info | date = 18 December 2013| language =pl | access-date = 2020-09-02}}</ref>

Abbeys were among the institutions of the Catholic Church swept away during the [[French Revolution]]. Monasteries and convents were again allowed to form in the 19th century under the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]]. Later that century, under the [[Third French Republic]], laws were enacted preventing religious teaching. The original intent was to allow secular schools. Thus in 1880 and 1882, Benedictine teaching monks were effectively exiled; this was not completed until 1901.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.st-benoit-du-lac.com/histoire1/history1.html|title=History I|publisher=st-benoit-du-lac.com|access-date=|archive-date = 30 March 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090330145729/http://www.st-benoit-du-lac.com/histoire1/history1.html}}</ref><ref name="Chadwick1998">{{cite book |last= Chadwick|first=Owen |title=A History of the Popes, 1830–1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk1KzHS1IagC&pg=PA495|year=1998|publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn= 978-0-19-826922-9|pages=495–}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ryde.shalfleet.net/wootton_and_quarr.htm Wootton and Fishbourne]. Ryde.shalfleet.net (4 August 2013). Retrieved on 7 September 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.citeaux.net/assisi2005/delivrance-eng.htm RGM 2005 OCSO]. Citeaux.net (28 February 1947). Retrieved on 7 September 2013.</ref>

In 1898 Marie-Adèle Garnier, in religion, Mother Marie de Saint-Pierre, founded in [[Montmartre]] (''Mount of the Martyr''), Paris a Benedictine house.<ref>[http://www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/foundress/foundress.html Tyburn Foundress] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205020044/http://www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/foundress/foundress.html |date=5 February 2012 }} at Tyburn Convent official website. Retrieved 23 February 2012</ref> However, the [[René Waldeck-Rousseau|Waldeck-Rousseau]]'s ''Law of Associations'', passed in 1901, placed severe restrictions on religious bodies which were obliged to leave France. Garnier and her community relocated to another place associated with executions, this time it was in [[London]], near the site of [[Tyburn#Tyburn gallows|Tyburn tree]] where 105 Catholic martyrs—including [[Oliver Plunkett|Saint Oliver Plunkett]] and [[Edmund Campion|Saint Edmund Campion]] had been executed during the [[English Reformation]]. A stone's throw from [[Marble Arch]], the [[Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre|Tyburn Convent]] is now the Mother House of the Congregation.<ref>[http://www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/martyrs/martyrs_main.html Tyburn Martyrs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121100511/http://www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/martyrs/martyrs_main.html |date=21 January 2012 }} at Tyburn Convent official website. Retrieved 23 February 2012</ref>

===Poland and Lithuania===
[[File:Bellotto New Town Market Square.jpg|thumb|Benedictine church in [[Warsaw]]'s New Town, depicted by [[Bernardo Bellotto|Bellotto]]]]

Benedictines are thought to have arrived in the [[Kingdom of Poland (1025-1031)|Kingdom of Poland]] in the 11th-century. One of the earliest foundations is [[Tyniec|Tyniec Abbey]] on a promontory by the [[Vistula]] river. The Tyniec monks led the translation of the Bible into Polish vernacular. Other surviving Benedictine houses can be found in [[Stary Kraków|Stary Kraków Village]], [[Biskupów]], [[Lubiń, Kościan County|Lubiń]]. Older foundations are in  [[Benedictine Monastery, Mogilno|Mogilno]], [[Trzemeszno]], [[Łęczyca]], [[Łysa Góra]] and in [[Opactwo]], among others. In the [[Middle Ages]] the city of [[Płock]], also on the Vistula, had a successful monastery, which played a significant role in the local economy. In the 18th-century benedictine convents were opened for women, notably in Warsaw's New Town.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

A 15th-century Benedictine foundation can be found in [[Senieji Trakai]], a village in Eastern [[Lithuania]].

===Switzerland===
[[Rheinau Abbey|Kloster Rheinau]] was a Benedictine monastery in Rheinau in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, founded in about 778.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=YwU4AAAAIAAJ&dq=Rheinau+Abbey&pg=PA285 Clark, James Midgley. ''The Abbey of St. Gall as a Centre of Literature & Art'', Chapter XII, CUP Archive, 1926, 1926]</ref> The abbey of [[Engelberg Abbey|Our Lady of the Angels]] was founded in 1120.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Christen |first=Beat |title=Auf den Tag genau vor 900 Jahren wurde das Kloster Engelberg gegründet |url=https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/zentralschweiz/obwalden/auf-den-tag-genau-vor-900-jahren-wurde-das-kloster-gegrundet-ld.1209199 |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=[[Luzerner Zeitung]] |date=April 2020 |language=de}}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
The [[English Benedictine Congregation]] is the oldest of the nineteen Benedictine congregations. Through the influence of [[Wilfrid]], [[Benedict Biscop]], and [[Dunstan]],<ref>Cross, F. L.; Livingstone, E. A., eds. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press, US. p. 514</ref> the Benedictine Rule spread rapidly, and in the North it was adopted in most of the monasteries that had been founded by the Celtic missionaries from Iona. Many of the episcopal sees of England were founded and governed by the Benedictines, and no fewer than nine of the old cathedrals were served by the black monks of the priories attached to them.<ref name="Catholic"/> Monasteries served as hospitals and places of refuge for the weak and homeless. The monks studied the healing properties of plants and minerals to alleviate the sufferings of the sick.<ref name="Hicks">{{cite web|url=http://www.osb.org/gen/hicks/index.html|author=Dom Bruno Hicks|title=The Benedictines|date=2009|access-date=15 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105194639/http://www.osb.org/gen/hicks/index.html|archive-date=5 November 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the [[English Reformation]], all [[Dissolution of the monasteries|monasteries were dissolved]] and their lands confiscated by the Crown, forcing those who wished to continue in the monastic life to flee into exile on the Continent. During the 19th century English members of these communities were able to return to England.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

[[File:Saint Benedict Medal.jpg|thumb|The two sides of a Saint Benedict medal]]

[[Minster in Thanet Priory|St. Mildred's Priory]], on the [[Isle of Thanet]], [[Kent]], was built in 1027 on the site of an abbey founded in 670 by the daughter of the first Christian [[King of Kent]]. Currently the priory is home to a community of Benedictine nuns. Five of the most notable English abbeys are the Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as [[Downside Abbey]], The Abbey of St Edmund, King and Martyr commonly known as [[Douai Abbey]] in Upper Woolhampton, Reading, Berkshire, [[Ealing Abbey]] in Ealing, West London, and [[Worth Abbey]].<ref name="Battell">{{cite magazine|last=Colin Battell |first= OSB|title=Spirituality on the beach|magazine=The Tablet|date= 2 December 2006|pages= 18–19}} The late Cardinal [[Basil Hume]] was Abbot of Ampleforth Abbey before being appointed Archbishop of Westminster.</ref><ref name="Martin">{{cite book|first=Christopher |last=Martin |title=A Glimpse of Heaven: Catholic Churches in England and Wales|location=London|publisher= English Heritage|date= 2007}} Examines the abbeys rebuilt after 1850 (by benefactors among the Catholic aristocracy and recusant squirearchy), mainly Benedictine but including a Cistercian Abbey at Mount St. Bernard (by Pugin) and a Carthusian Charterhouse in Sussex. There is a review of book by Richard Lethbridge "Monuments to Catholic confidence," ''The Tablet'' 10 February 2007, 27.</ref> [[Prinknash Abbey]], used by Henry VIII as a hunting lodge, was officially returned to the Benedictines four hundred years later, in 1928. During the next few years, so-called Prinknash Park was used as a home until it was returned to the order.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Mian Ridge |title=Prinknash monks downsize|magazine=The Tablet|date= 12 November 2005|page= 34}}</ref>

[[Ampleforth Abbey|St. Lawrence's Abbey]] in Ampleforth, Yorkshire was founded in 1802. In 1955, Ampleforth set up a daughter house, a priory at St. Louis, Missouri which became independent in 1973 and became [[Saint Louis Abbey]] in its own right in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stlouisabbey.org/history|title=History|website=Saint Louis Abbey}}</ref>
[[File:Stanbrook Abbey Church, Wass, Yorkshire - Feilden Clegg and Bradley Studios (30431812950).jpg|thumb|Interior of [[Stanbrook Abbey]] Church, Wass, Yorkshire]]
As of 2015, the English Congregation consists of three abbeys of nuns and ten abbeys of monks. Members of the congregation are found in England, Wales, the United States of America, Peru and Zimbabwe.<ref name="English">{{cite web|url=http://www.benedictines.org.uk/our-tradition/history/|title=History – The English Benedictine Congregation|work=benedictines.org.uk|access-date=11 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211095014/http://www.benedictines.org.uk/our-tradition/history/|archive-date=11 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In England there are also houses of the [[Subiaco Cassinese Congregation#English Province|Subiaco Cassinese Congregation]]: Farnborough, Prinknash, and Chilworth: the [[Solesmes Congregation]], Quarr and St Cecilia's on the Isle of Wight, as well as a diocesan monastery following the Rule of Saint Benedict: The Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.glastonburymonastery.co.uk/|title=HOME &#124; Glastonbury Monastery &#124; Somerset|website=Mysite}}</ref>

Since the [[Oxford Movement]], there has also been a modest flourishing of Benedictine monasticism in the [[Anglican Communion|Anglican Church]] and Protestant Churches. Anglican Benedictine Abbots are invited<!---invited, right? Not just "drop by." :)---> guests of the Benedictine Abbot Primate in Rome at Abbatial gatherings at Sant'Anselmo.<ref>{{cite book |first=Daniel |last=Rees |chapter=Anglican Monasticism |title=Encyclopedia of Monasticism |editor-first=William |editor-last=Johnston |location=New York |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publisher |year=2000 |page=29 |isbn=1-57958-090-4 }}</ref>

In 1168 local Benedictine monks instigated the anti-semitic [[blood libel]] of [[Harold of Gloucester]] as a template for explaining child deaths. According to historian Joe Hillaby, the blood libel of Harold was crucially important because for the first time an unexplained child death occurring near the Easter festival was arbitrarily linked to Jews in the vicinity by local Christian churchmen: "they established a pattern quickly taken up elsewhere. Within three years the first ritual murder charge was made in France."<ref name="hil">{{cite journal |last1=Hillaby |first1=Joe |title=The ritual-child-murder accusation: its dissemination and Harold of Gloucester |journal=Jewish Historical Studies |date=1994–1996 |volume=34 |pages=69–109 |jstor=29779954 }}</ref>

====Monastic libraries in England====
The forty-eighth Rule of Saint Benedict prescribes extensive and habitual "holy reading" for the brethren.<ref>{{cite book |last= Kaur |first= Nirmal|date= 2005|title= History of Education |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=EaGGhbpebLYC&pg=PA44|publisher= Mittal Publications|page= 44|isbn= 81-7099-984-7}}</ref> Three primary types of reading were done by the monks in medieval times. Monks would read privately during their personal time, as well as publicly during services and at mealtimes. In addition to these three mentioned in the Rule, monks would also read in the infirmary. Monasteries were thriving centers of education, with monks and nuns actively encouraged to learn and pray according to the [[Benedictine Rule]]. Rule 38 states that 'these brothers' meals should usually be accompanied by reading, and that they were to eat and drink in silence while one read out loud.

Benedictine monks were not allowed worldly possessions, thus necessitating the preservation and collection of sacred texts in monastic libraries for communal use.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Wormald |last2=Wright|first1= Francis |first2=C.E.|date= 1958|title= The English Library before 1700|via= University of London|publisher= The Athlone Press|location=London|page= 15}}</ref> For the sake of convenience, the books in the monastery were housed in a few different places, namely the [[sacristy]], which contained books for the choir and other liturgical books, the [[Clergy house|rectory]], which housed books for public reading such as sermons and lives of the saints, and the [[library]], which contained the largest collection of books and was typically in the cloister.

The first record of a monastic library in England is in [[Canterbury]]. To assist with [[Augustine of Canterbury]]'s [[Gregorian mission|English mission]], Pope [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory the Great]] gave him nine books which included the Gregorian Bible in two volumes, the Psalter of Augustine, two copies of the [[Gospels]], two [[martyrologies]], an Exposition of the Gospels and Epistles, and a [[Psalter]].<ref name="Savage1912">{{cite book |last= Savage|first= Ernest|date= 1912|title= Old English Libraries|url= https://archive.org/details/cu31924029526112|location= London|publisher= Methuen & Co. Ltd.}}</ref>{{rp|23–25}} [[Theodore of Tarsus]] brought Greek books to Canterbury more than seventy years later, when he founded a school for the study of Greek.<ref name="Savage1912" />{{rp|26}}

=== United States ===

The first Benedictine to live in the United States was Pierre-Joseph Didier. He came to the United States in 1790 from Paris and served in the Ohio and St. Louis areas until his death. The first actual Benedictine monastery founded was [[Saint Vincent Archabbey]], located in [[Latrobe, Pennsylvania]]. It was founded in 1832 by [[Boniface Wimmer]], a German monk, who sought to serve German immigrants in America. In 1856, Wimmer started to lay the foundations for [[Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville|St. John's Abbey]] in Minnesota. In 1876, Herman Wolfe, of Saint Vincent Archabbey established [[Belmont Abbey, North Carolina|Belmont Abbey]] in North Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://belmontabbey.org/learn-about-the-monastery/history-of-belmont-abbey/ |title='History of Belmont Abbey', Belmont Abbey, North Carolina |access-date=4 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416152335/http://belmontabbey.org/learn-about-the-monastery/history-of-belmont-abbey/ |archive-date=16 April 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> By the time of his death in 1887, Wimmer had sent Benedictine monks to Kansas, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Illinois, and Colorado.<ref name="RB 1980">{{Cite book|title = RB 1980: the rule of St. Benedict in Latin and English with notes|author=St Benedict|author-link=St Benedict|translator-last = Fry|translator-first = Timothy|publisher = The Liturgical Press|year = 1981|isbn = 0-8146-1211-3|location = Collegeville, MN|pages = 136–141|ol=4255653M}}</ref>

Wimmer also asked for Benedictine [[Nun#Distinction between a nun and a religious sister|sister]]s to be sent to America by St. Walburg Convent in [[Eichstätt]], Bavaria. In 1852, [[Sister Benedicta Riepp]] and two other sisters founded [[St. Marys, Pennsylvania]]. Soon they would send sisters to Michigan, New Jersey, and Minnesota.<ref name="RB 1980" />

By 1854, Swiss monks began to arrive and founded [[St. Meinrad Archabbey|St. Meinrad Abbey]] in Indiana, and they soon spread to Arkansas and Louisiana. They were soon followed by Swiss sisters.<ref name="RB 1980" />

There are now over 100 Benedictine houses across America. Most Benedictine houses are part of one of four large Congregations: American-Cassinese, Swiss-American, St. Scholastica, and St. Benedict. The congregations mostly are made up of monasteries that share the same lineage. For instance the American-Cassinese congregation included the 22 monasteries descended from Boniface Wimmer.<ref>{{Cite web|title = The Benedictine Congregations and Federations of North America in the Benedictine Confederation.|url = http://www.osb.org/intl/confed/nacong.html|website = www.osb.org|access-date = 24 November 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170903031504/http://www.osb.org/intl/confed/nacong.html|archive-date = 3 September 2017|url-status = dead|df = dmy-all}}</ref>

==Benedictine vows and life==
{{Main|Rule of Saint Benedict}}

A sense of community has been the defining characteristic of the order since the beginning.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/history/benedictine-order/history |title=The Defining Features of the Benedictine Order|website= Durham World Heritage Site}}</ref> To that end, section 17 in chapter 58 of the [[Rule of Saint Benedict]] specifies the solemn vows candidates joining a Benedictine community are required to make: a vow of stability (to remain in the same community), and to adopt a "conversion of habits", in Latin, ''conversatio morum'' and obedience to the community's superior.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://saintjohnsabbey.org/osb|title= Order of Saint Benedict|website = Saint John's Abbey}}</ref> The "Benedictine vows" are equivalent to the [[evangelical counsels]] accepted by all candidates entering a [[Religious order (Catholic)|religious order]]. The interpretation of ''conversatio morum'' understood as "conversion of the habits of life" has generally been replaced by notions such as adoption of a monastic manner of life, drawing on the [[Vulgate]]'s use of ''conversatio'' as indicating "citizenship" or "local customs", see [[Philippians]] 3:20. The Rule enjoins monks and nuns "to live in this place as a religious, in obedience to its rule and to the abbot or abbess."

Benedictine abbots and abbesses have jurisdiction over their [[abbey]] and thus canonical authority over the monks or nuns who are resident. This authority includes the power to assign duties, to decide which books may or may not be read, to regulate comings and goings, and to punish and to [[excommunicate]], in the sense of an enforced isolation from the monastic community.

A tight communal timetable{{spaced ndash}}the [[horarium]]{{spaced ndash}}is meant to ensure that the time given by God is not wasted but used in God's service, whether for prayer, work, meals, spiritual reading or sleep. The order's motto is ''[[Ora et Labora]]'' "pray and work".

Although Benedictines do not take a vow of silence, hours of strict silence are set, and at other times silence is maintained as much as is practically possible. Social conversations tend to be limited to communal recreation times. Such details, like other aspects of the daily routine of a Benedictine house are left to the discretion of the superior, and are set out in its ''customary'', the code adopted by a particular Benedictine house by adapting the Rule to local conditions.<ref>[https://mountmichael.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/CustomaryRev2016.pdf  Customary of Mount Michael Abbey]</ref>

According to the norms of the [[1983 Code of Canon Law]], a Benedictine abbey is a "[[religious institute]]" and its members therefore participate in [[consecrated life]]<!--?: , commonly referred to as "Religious"--> which Canon 588 §1 explains is intrinsically "neither clerical nor lay." Males in consecrated life, however, may be ordained.

Benedictines' rules contain a reference to [[ritual purification]], which is inspired by Benedict's encouragement of [[bathing]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The English Spa, 1560–1815: A Social History|first=Phyllis|last= Hembry|year= 1990| isbn= 9780838633915|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press}}</ref> Benedictine monks have played a role in the development and promotion of [[spa]]s.<ref name="ASpiritualHistory">{{cite book | title = Water: A Spiritual History| first =Ian |last=Bradley | year =2012| isbn= 9781441167675|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing}}</ref>

==Organization==
Benedictine monasticism differs from other Christian religious orders in that as congregations sometimes with several houses, some of them in other countries, they are not bound into a unified religious order headed by a "Superior General". Each Benedictine congregation is autonomous and governed by an abbot or abbess.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Benedictine Abbeys and Priories in the U.S. {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/benedictine-abbeys-and-priories-us |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

The autonomous houses are characterised by their chosen [[charism]] or specific dedication to a particular devotion. For example, In 1313 [[Bernardo Tolomei]] established the [[Olivetans|Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet]]. The community adopted the Rule of Saint Benedict and received canonical approval in 1344. The Olivetans are part of the Benedictine Confederation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Directory of OSB Congregations |url=https://www.osb.org/the-benedictine-order/directory-of-osb-congregations/ |website=OSB DOT ORG |access-date=25 April 2022}}</ref> Other specialisms, such as [[Gregorian chant]] as at [[Solesmes Abbey|Solesmes]] in France, or [[Perpetual Adoration]] of the ''Holy Sacrament'' have been adopted by different houses, as at the  Warsaw Convent, or the [[Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre]] at Tyburn Convent in London. Other houses have dedicated themselves to books, reading, writing and printing them as at [[Stanbrook Abbey]] in England. Others still are associated with the places where they were founded or their founders centuries ago, hence [[Cassinese]], [[Subiaco, Lazio|Subiaco]], [[Camaldolese]] or [[Sylvestrines]].

All Benedictine houses became federated in the [[Benedictine Confederation]] brought  into existence by [[Pope Leo XIII]]'s [[Apostolic Brief]] "''Summum semper''" on 12 July 1893. Pope Leo also established the office of [[Abbot Primate]] as the abbot elected to represent this Confederation at the [[Holy See|Vatican]] and to the world. The headquarters of the Benedictine Confederation and the Abbot Primate is the [[Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino|Primatial Abbey of Sant'Anselmo]] built by Pope Leo XIII in [[Rome]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Benedictine Confederation |url=http://www.osb.org/the-benedictine-order/the-benedictine-confederation/ |website=OSB.org |access-date=24 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.benedictinemonks.co.uk/news/st-benedict-the-order/|title=St Benedict & The Order &#124; Benedictine Monks}}</ref>

==Other orders==
The Rule of Saint Benedict is also used by a number of religious orders that began as reforms of the Benedictine tradition such as the [[Cistercian]]s <ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rule of St Benedict |url=https://www.hcawhitland.co.uk/who-we-are/benedicts-rule |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=Holy Cross Abbey, Whitland}}</ref> and [[Trappist]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rule of St. Benedict |url=https://www.trappists.org/history-of-the-trappists/rule-st-benedict/ |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) |language=en-US}}</ref> These groups are separate congregations and not members of the [[Benedictine Confederation]].

Although most Benedictines are Roman Catholic, there are also other communities that follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. For example, of an estimated 2,400 celibate Anglican religious (1,080 men and 1,320 women) in the [[Anglican Communion]] as a whole, some have adopted the Rule of Benedict. Likewise, such communities can be found in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]],<ref name="Simpson2016">{{Cite web |title=Directory of Parishes |last=Simpson |first=Fr. Benedict |work=The Western Rite Communities of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia |date=2016 |access-date=26 August 2019 |url= https://www.rocor-wr.org/parishes/ }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.saintlaurenceosb.org/monastery.html |title=Holy Monasteries of Our Lady and Saint Laurence Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Western Rite Vicariate |website= The Benedictine Fellowship of Saint Laurence|access-date=10 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404152547/http://www.saintlaurenceosb.org/monastery.html |archive-date=4 April 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the [[Lutheran Church]].<ref name="SAH2018">{{Cite web |title=Who we are… |work=Saint Augustine's House |date=2018 |access-date=26 August 2019 |url= https://staugustines.house/about/ }}</ref>

== Notable Benedictines ==
Individuals are arranged in chronological order by date of death if deceased, and by date of birth if alive.

{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!Male
!Female
|-
!Saints
|
*[[Benedict of Nursia]] (2 March 480 – 21 March 547), Founder of the Order and Patron Saint of Europe
*[[Saint Maurus|Maurus of Subiaco]] (c. 512– 15 Jan 584), first disciple of St. Benedict, famous for rescuing of [[Saint Placidus|St. Placidus]] from drowning.
*[[Saint Placidus|Placidus of Subiaco]] (c. 6th century) disciple of St. Benedict. 
* [[Laurence of Canterbury|Lawrence of Canterbury]] (died 2 February 619), the second [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]
* [[Mellitus]] (died 24 April 624), the third [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]
* [[Justus]] (died on 10 November between 627 and 631), the fourth [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]
* [[Paulinus of York]] (died 10 October 644), the first [[Archbishop of York|Bishop of York]]
* [[Cuthbert|Cuthbert of Lindisfarne]] ({{circa|634}} – 20 March 687), the first [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]
* [[Benedict Biscop]] ({{circa|628}} – 12 January 690), founder of [[Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory]]
* [[Erkenwald]] ({{circa|630}} – c. 693), [[Bishop of London]]
* [[Wilfrid]] ({{circa|633|709}}), [[Bishop of York]]
* [[Bertin]] ({{circa|615|709}}),  [[abbot]] of a [[monastery]] in [[Saint-Omer]] later named the [[Abbey of Saint Bertin]] 
* [[Aldhelm]] ({{circa|639}} – 25 May 709),  [[Abbot of Malmesbury|Abbot]] of [[Malmesbury Abbey]], [[Bishop of Salisbury#History|Bishop of Sherborne]], and a writer and scholar of [[Latin]] poetry
* [[Rupert of Salzburg]] (c. 660 – 27 March 710), [[Prince-Bishopric of Worms|Bishop of Worms]] as well as the first [[Bishop of Salzburg]]
* [[Suitbert of Kaiserswerth|Swidberth of Kaiserwerdt]] (died c. 713), who accompanied [[Willibrord]] on the [[Anglo-Saxon mission]]
* [[John of Beverley]] (died 7 May 721), [[Bishop of York]]
* [[Leudwinus]] ({{circa|660}} – 29 September 722), Count of Treves who later became [[Bishop of Treves|Archbishop of Treves]] and [[Laon]]
* [[Bede|Bede the Venerable]] (672/3 – 26 May 735), scholar, "The Father of [[History of England|English History]]" and [[Doctor of the Church]]
* [[Willibrord]] <abbr>c.</abbr> 658 – 7 November 739), [[Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580)|Bishop of Utrecht]] and "Apostle to the [[Frisians]]"
* [[Saint Boniface|Boniface]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 675 – 5 June 754), [[Elector of Mainz|Bishop of Mainz]], Apostle to the Germans and martyr of the [[Anglo-Saxon mission]]s 
* [[:it:Wilfrido della Gherardesca|Wilfrido della Gherardesca]] (died 15 February 756), monk
* [[Saint Sturm|Sturm of Fulda]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 705 – 17 December 779), disciple of [[Saint Boniface|Boniface]] and founder and first abbot of the [[Benedictine Order|Benedictine]] [[Fulda monastery|monastery and abbey of Fulda]]
* [[Benedict of Aniane]] (747 – 12 February 821), "The Second Benedict"
* [[Adalard of Corbie]] c. 751 – 2 January 827), Abbot of Corbie
* [[Rabanus Maurus]] ({{circa|780}} – 4 February 856), [[Elector of Mainz|Archbishop of Mainz]] and "The Teacher of Germany"
* [[Swithun]] (c. 800 - 2 July 863), [[Bishop of Winchester]]
* [[Paschasius Radbertus]] (c. 785 – c. 865), abbot of [[Corbie Abbey|Corbie]]
* [[Ansgar]] (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), [[Archbishopric of Bremen|Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen]] and "Apostle of the North"
* [[Altfrid|Altfrid von Hildesheim]] (died 15 August 874),  [[Bishop of Hildesheim]], and founder of [[Essen Abbey]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Concession of Mass |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/concession_mass.htm |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
* [[Hincmar]] (806 – 21 December 882), [[Archbishop of Reims]]
* [[Bertharius of Monte Cassino|Bertario di Montecassino]] (c. 810 - 22 October 883), abbot and martyr
* [[Berno of Cluny]] (c. 850 – 13 January 927), the first [[abbot of Cluny]] and began the tradition of the [[Cluniac reforms]]
* [[Odo of Cluny]] ({{circa|878}} – 18 November 942), the second [[abbot of Cluny]] 
* [[Oda of Canterbury]] (died 2 June 958), the twenty-third [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]
* [[Aymard of Cluny]] (died c. 965),  the third [[abbot of Cluny]] 
* [[Æthelwold of Winchester]] (between 904 and 909 - 1 August 984), [[Bishop of Winchester]]
* [[Dunstan]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 909 – 19 May 988), [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]
* [[Majolus of Cluny]] ({{circa|906}} – 11 May 994), the fourth [[abbot of Cluny]] 
* [[Wolfgang of Regensburg]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 934 – 31 October 994), [[Bishop of Regensburg]]
* [[Adalbert of Prague]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 956 – 23 April 997), missionary [[Bishop of Prague]] and martyr
* [[Attilanus]] (c. 937 – c. 1007), [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora in Spain|Bishop of Zamora]] and prior of [[Moreruela Abbey]]
* [[Andrew Zorard]] (c. 980 - c. 1009), monk
* [[Benedict of Skalka]] (died c. 1012), monk and martyr
* [[Simeon of Mantua]] (died 1016), hermit
* [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Henry II]] (6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and [[oblate]] of the order
* [[Bononio|Bononio of Lucedio]] (died 30 August 1026), Abbot of Lucedio
* [[Romuald]] (c. 951 - 19 June 1027), founder of the [[Camaldolese|Camaldolese Order]]
* Guido da Pomposa (c. 970 - 31 March 1046), [[Pomposa Abbey|Abbot of Pomposa]]
* [[Gerard of Csanád]] (23 April 977/1000 – 24 September 1046),<ref name="Catholic2" /> [[Bishop of Csanád]] and martyr
* [[Odilo of Cluny]] ({{circa|962|1 January 1049}}), the fifth [[abbot of Cluny]] 
* [[Alferius|Alferio]] (c. 930 - 12 April 1050), founder of the Abbey of [[La Trinità della Cava]] and became its first abbot
* [[Íñigo of Oña]] (c. 1000 - 1 June 1057) Abbot of [[San Salvador de Oña|San Salvador]] at [[Oña]]
* [[Peter Damian|Pier Damiani]] ({{circa|1007}} – 21 or 22 February 1072 or 1073), Cardinal and [[Doctor of the Church]]
* [[John Gualbert|Giovanni Gualberto]] (c. 985 – 12 July 1073), founder of the [[Vallumbrosan Order]]
* [[Saint Maurus of Pécs|Maurus of Pécs]] ({{circa|1000|1075}}), [[Bishop of Pécs]]
* [[Pope Gregory VII]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 1015 – 25 May 1085), [[Bishop of Rome]]
* [[Arnold of Soissons|Arnulf of Soissons]] (c. 1040 - c. 1087), [[Bishop of Soissons]] and founder of the  [[Abbey of St. Peter in Oudenburg]]
* [[Leo I of Cava|Leone I]] (died 1079), second abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[Wulfstan (died 1095)|Wulfstan of Worcester]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 1008 – 20 January 1095), [[Bishop of Worcester]]
* [[:it:Alberto da Prezzate|Alberto da Prezzate (or da Pontida)]] (c. 1025 - 2 September 1095), abbot<ref name=":0" />
* [[Walter of Pontoise]] ({{circa|1030|1099}}), abbot of Pontoise
* [[Peter of Anagni|Pietro de Anagni]] (died 3 August 1105), [[Bishop of Anagni]] and papal legate
* [[Anselm of Canterbury]] ({{circa|1033}} – 21 April 1109), [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] and [[Doctor of the Church]]
* [[Hugh of Cluny]] (13 May 1024 – 29 April 1109), [[Abbot of Cluny]] and one of the most influential leaders of the [[monastic order]]s from the [[Middle Ages]]
* [[Lidanus]] (c. 1026 - c. 1118), founder of Sezze Abbey
* [[Peter of Pappacarbone|Pietro di Pappacarbone]] (died 4 March 1123), third abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[Bruno (bishop of Segni)|Bruno di Segni]] (c. 1045 – 18 July 1123), [[Bishop of Segni]] and [[Abbot of Montecassino]],
* [[Constabilis|Constabile]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 1070 – 17 February 1124), fourth abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[William of Montevergine]] (c. 1085 – 25 June 1142), founder of the [[Order of Monte Vergine|Congregation of Monte Vergine]], or "[[Order of Monte Vergine|Williamites]]"
* [[Saint Ernest|Ernest]] (died c. 1148), [[abbot]] of [[Zwiefalten Abbey]]
* [[Stephen of Obazine|Étienne d'Obazine]] (c. 1085 – 8 March 1159), hermit
* [[:it:Franco da Assergi|Franco da Assergi]] (c. 1154 or 1159 - 12th century), hermit
* [[Raynald of Nocera|Rinaldo di Nocera]] (c. 1150 - 9 February 1217), [[Bishop of Nocera Umbra]]
* [[Edmund Rich|Edmund Rich of Abingdon]] (perhaps 20 November <abbr>c.</abbr> 1174 - 16 November 1240)
* [[Sylvester Gozzolini|Silvestro Gozzolini]] (c. 1177 – 26 November 1267), founder of the [[Sylvestrines|Sylvestrine Order]]
* [[Pope Celestine V]] (1209/1210 or 1215 – 19 May 1296), [[Bishop of Rome]] and founder of the now-extinct [[Celestines|Celestine Order]]
* [[Bernardo Tolomei]] (10 May 1272 – 20 August 1348), founder of the [[Olivetans|Olivetan Order]]
* [[John Roberts (martyr)|John Roberts]] (c. 1577 – 10 December 1610), martyred during the English Reformation and one of the [[Forty Martyrs of England and Wales]]
* [[Ambrose Barlow]] (before 30 November 1585 – 10 September 1641), martyred during the English Reformation and one of the [[Forty Martyrs of England and Wales]]
* [[Alban Roe]] ((20 July 1583 – 21 January 1642), martyred during the English Reformation and one of the [[Forty Martyrs of England and Wales]]
* [[Oliver Plunkett]] (1 November 1625 – 1 July 1681), [[Archbishop of Armagh]] and [[Primate of All Ireland]] and oblate of the order, victim of [[Titus Oates|Titus Oates']] "[[Popish Plot]]"
|
*[[Scholastica]] (c. 480 – 10 February 543), sister of Saint Benedict and traditionally the founder of the Benedictine nuns
* [[Æthelthryth]] (c. 636 – 23 June 679), Abbess of Ely
* [[Hilda of Whitby]] (c. 614 – 17 November 680), virgin and abbess
* [[Werburh]] (c. 650 - 3 February 700), princess who later became a nun
* [[Mildrith]] (c. 660 - after 732), [[abbess]] of the Abbey at [[Minster-in-Thanet]]
* [[Saint Walpurga|Walpurga]] (c. 710 – 25 February 777 or 779), [[Anglo-Saxon mission]]ary to the [[Frankish Empire]]
* [[Wiborada|Wiborada of St. Gall]] (died c. 926), anchoress and martyr
* [[Edith of Wilton]] (c. 961 – c. 984), the daughter of [[Edgar, King of England]] (r. 959–975) and [[Wulfthryth of Wilton|Saint Wulfthryth]], who later became a nun together with her mother and retired to [[Wilton Abbey]]
* [[Wulfthryth of Wilton]] (c. 937 – 21 September c. 1000), the mother of [[Edith of Wilton]] and the second known consort of [[Edgar, King of England]] and  later became abbess of [[Wilton Abbey]]
* [[Adelaide, Abbess of Vilich|Adelaide of Vilich]] (c. 970 – 5 February 1015), abbess
* [[Cunigunde of Luxembourg]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 975 – 3 March 1033), [[List of Holy Roman empresses|Holy Roman Empress]]
* [[Hildegard of Bingen]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 1098 – 17 September 1179), abbess and [[Doctor of the Church]]
* [[Mechthild of Hackeborn|Mechtilde of Hackeborn]] (c. 1240 or 1241 – 19 November 1298), nun
* [[Gertrude the Great]] (6 January 1256 – 17 November 1302),<ref name="Catholic5" /> mystic who was a member of the [[Monastery of Helfta]]
* [[Frances of Rome]] (c. 1384 – 9 March 1440), Patroness of Benedictine Oblates
* [[Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello]] (2 October 1791 - 21 March 1858), founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Providence
|-
!Blessed
|
*[[Alcuin]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 735 – 19 May 804), a leading scholar and teacher at the [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian court]], declared Blessed by popular acclaim
* [[Utto|Utto of Metten]] (died 3 October 829), first abbot of [[Metten Abbey]]
* [[Notker the Stammerer]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 840 – 6 April 912), composer, poet and scholar
* [[Hermann of Reichenau]] (18 July 1013 – 24 September 1054), the possible composer of "[[Salve Regina]]", "[[Veni Sancte Spiritus]]", and "[[Alma Redemptoris Mater]]", beatified in 1863
* [[Pope Victor III]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 1026 – 16 September 1087), [[Bishop of Rome]]
* [[Lanfranc]] ({{circa|1005}} or 1010 – 24 May 1089), [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]
* [[William of Hirsau]] ({{circa|1030}} – 5 July 1091), abbot of [[Hirsau Abbey]] and father of the Hirsau Reforms
* [[Robert of Arbrissel]] ({{circa|1045}} – c. 1116), founder of [[Fontevraud Abbey]]
* [[:it:Simeone (abate)|Simeone]] (died 16 November 1140), fifth abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[:it:Falcone (abate)|Falcone]] (died 6 June 1140), sixth abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[Berthold of Garsten|Berthold de Rachez of Garsten]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 1060 – 27 July 1142), monk
* [[:de:Rupert von Ottobeuren|Rupert von Ottobeuren]] (died 15 August 1145), prior<ref name=":0" />
* [[Peter the Venerable]] ({{circa|1092}} – 25 December 1156), the ninth [[abbot of Cluny]]
* [[:it:Marino (abate)|Marino]] (died 15 December 1170), seventh abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[Giovanni de Surdis Cacciafronte]] (c. 1125 - 16 March 1184), [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Vicenza|Bishop of Vicenza]] and martyr
* [[:it:Pietro_Acotanto|Pietro Acotanto]] (died 23 September 1187), monk
* [[:it:Benincasa di Cava|Benincasa]] (died 10 January 1194), eighth abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[:it:Pietro II (abate)|Pietro II]] (died 13 March 1208), tenth abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[:it:Balsamo (abate)|Balsamo]] (died 24 November 1232), eleventh abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[Conrad of Ottobeuren]] (died 27 July 1227), Abbot of [[Ottobeuren Abbey]]
* [[Avignonet massacre|the Benedictine prior of Avignonet (whose name is unknown)]] (died 28 May 1242), inquisitor martyred at Avignonet in a mission to eradicate the Cathar heresy
* [[Giordano Forzatè|Giordano Forzate]] (c. 1158 - 7 August 1248), monk
* [[:it:Abbazia territoriale della Santissima Trinità di Cava de' Tirreni#Abati|Leonardo]] (died 18 August 1255), twelfth abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[:it:Leone II di Cava|Leone II]] (c. 1239 - 19 August 1295), sixteenth abbot of [[La Trinità della Cava]]
* [[Pope Urban V]] (c. 1310 – 19 December 1370), [[Bishop of Rome]]
* [[Hugh Cook Faringdon]] (died 14 November 1539),  the last [[Abbot]] of [[Reading Abbey]], martyred during the [[English Reformation]]
* [[Hugh Cook Faringdon|John Rugg]] (died 14 November 1539), martyred alongside Abbot Hugh Faringdon during the English Reformation
* [[John Eynon]] (died 14 November 1539), martyred alongside Abbot Hugh Faringdon during the English Reformation
* [[Richard Whiting (abbot)|Richard Whiting]] (c. 1461 – 15 November 1539), the last [[Abbot of Glastonbury|Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey]], martyred during the English Reformation
* [[Richard Whiting (abbot)|John Thorne and Roger James]] (died 15 November 1539), martyred alongside Abbot Richard Whiting during the English Reformation
* [[Thomas Marshall (abbot)|John Beche]] (died 1 December 1539), the last Abbot of [[Colchester Abbey]], martyred during the English Reformation
* [[Mark Barkworth]] (c. 1572 - 27 February 1601), martyred during the English Reformation
* [[George Gervase]] (c. 1571 - 11 April 1608), martyred during the English Reformation
* [[Maurus Scott|William (Maurus) Scott]] (c. 1579 - 30 May 1612), martyred during the English Reformation
* [[Philip Powell (martyr)|Philip Powell (Morgan)]] (2 February 1594 – 30 June 1646), martyred during the English Reformation
* [[Thomas Pickering (martyr)|Thomas Pickering]] (c. 1621 - 9 May 1679), martyred during the English Reformation as a victim of [[Titus Oates|Titus Oates']] "[[Popish Plot]]"
* [[Holy September Martyrs|Louis Barreau de la Touche]] (6 June 1758 – 2 September 1792), martyr of the French Revolution
* [[Holy September Martyrs|Ambroise-Augustin Chevreux]] (13 February 1728 – 2 September 1792), martyr of the French Revolution
* [[Holy September Martyrs|René-Julien Massey]] (c. 1732 – 2 September 1792), martyr of the French Revolution
* [[Rochefort martyrs|Claude Richard]] (19 May 1741 - 9 August 1794), martyr of the French Revolution
* [[Rochefort martyrs|Louis-Francois Lebrun]] (4 April 1744 - 20 August 1794), martyr of the French Revolution
* [[Giuseppe Benedetto Dusmet]] (15 August 1818 - 14 April 1894), Archbishop of Catania and Cardinal
* [[Tommaso Riccardi|Tommaso (Placido) Riccardi]] (24 June 1844 - 25 March 1915), priest
* [[Columba Marmion|Joseph (Columba) Marmion]] (1 April 1858 - 30 January 1923), Irish priest
* [[522 Spanish Martyrs|Abel Ángel (Mauro) Palazuelos Maruri and 17 Companions]] (died between 26 July to 28 August 1936), Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War from [[El Pueyo de Araguás|El Pueyo]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spanish Civil War (37) |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/martyrs/MSPC37.htm |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
* [[Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War|José Antón Gómez and 3 Companions]] (died between 25 September to 31 December 1936), Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War from [[Madrid]]
* [[522 Spanish Martyrs|Jaume (Bernat) Vendrell Olivella and 19 Companions]], (died between 25 July 1936 to 15 February 1937), Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War from the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tarragona|Archdiocese of Tarragona]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spanish Civil War (10) |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/martyrs/MSPC10.htm |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
* [[Alfredo Schuster|Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster]] (18 January 1880 – 30 August 1954), [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] [[Archbishop of Milan]]
|
*[[Irmgard of Chiemsee]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 831 or 833 – 16 July 866), nun
* [[Gisela of Hungary]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 985 – 7 May 1065),  the first [[queen consort]] of [[Hungary]] by marriage to [[Stephen I of Hungary|Saint Stephen I of Hungary]]
* [[Blessed Beatrice d'Este|Beatrice I d'Este]] (c. 1192 – 10 May 1226), nun
* [[Saint Beatrice d'Este|Beatrice II d'Este]] (c. 1230 – 18 January 1262), nun
* [[Blessed Giuliana of Collalto|Giuliana di Collalto]] (c. 1186  – 1 September 1262), nun
* [[:it:Giustina Francucci Bezzoli|Giustina Francucci Bezzoli]] (c. 1260 - 12 March 1319), professed religious
* [[:it:Eustochio Bellini|Eustochio (Lucrezia) Bellini di Padova]] (c. 1444 - 13 February 1469), professed religious
* [[Giovanna Maria Bonomo]] (15 August 1606 - 1 March 1670), professed religious
* {{ill|Rosalie du Verdier de la Sorniere|fr|Rosalie du Verdier de La Sorinière}} (12 August 1745 - 27 January 1794), martyr of the French Revolution from the Benedictine Nuns of Our Lady of Calvary
* {{ill|Suzanne-Agathe (Marie Rose) Deloye|fr|Martyres d'Orange}} (4 February 1741 - 6 July 1794), martyr of the French Revolution
* [[Gertrude Prosperi|Gertrude (Maria Luisa Angelica) Prosperi]] (19 August 1799 - 13 September 1847), professed religious
* [[Maria Adeodata Pisani]] (29 December 1806 - 25 February 1855), professed religious
* [[Maria Fortunata Viti|Anna Felicia (Maria Fortunata) Viti]] (10 February 1827 - 20 November 1922), professed religious
* [[Colomba Gabriel]] (3 May 1858 - 24 September 1926), Ukrainian founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Charity
* [[Itala Mela|Maria della Trinità (Itala Mela)]] (28 August 1904 – 29 April 1957), virgin and oblate of the order
* [[Hanna Helena Chrzanowska]] (7 October 1902 – 29 April 1973), nurse and oblate of the order
|-
!Venerables
|
*[[Jean-Baptiste Delaveyne]] (11 September 1653 - 5 June 1719), founder of the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction
* Josef Gebhard (Meinrad) Eugster (23 August 1848 - 14 June 1925), Swiss priest<ref>{{Cite web |title=1925 |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/year/1925.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
* Bernardo Vaz Lobo Teixeira de Vasconcelos (of the Annunciation) (7 July 1902 - 4 July 1932), Spanish priest<ref>{{Cite web |title=1932 |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/year/1932.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
|
*Isabella Tomasi (Maria Crocifissa of the Conception) (29 May 1645 - 16 October 1699), professed religious<ref>{{Cite web |title=1699 |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/year/1699.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
* Giustina Schiapparoli (19 July 1819 - 30 November 1877), founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Divine Providence<ref>{{Cite web |title=1877 |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/year/1877.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
* Maria Antonia Schiapparoli (19 April 1815 - 2 May 1882), founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Divine Providence<ref>{{Cite web |title=1882 |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/year/1882.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
* Luigia Lavizzari (Maria Caterina of the Child Jesus) (6 October 1867 - 25 December 1931), professed religious of the Benedictine Nuns of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament<ref>{{Cite web |title=1931 |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/year/1931.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
* Jadwiga Jaroszewska (Wincenta of the Passion of the Lord) (7 March 1900 - 10 November 1937), founder of the Benedictine Samaritan Sisters of the Cross of Christ<ref>{{Cite web |title=1937 |url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/year/1937.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=newsaints.faithweb.com}}</ref>
|-
!Servants of God
|
*[[Bernard of Wąbrzeźno|Błażej Pęcharek (Bernard of Wąbrzeźno)]] (3 February 1575 – 2 June 1603), Polish priest
* [[Pope Pius VII]] (14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), Bishop of Rome
* [[Jean-Baptiste Muard]] (24 April 1809 – 19 June 1854), founder of the [[Edmundites|Society of Saint Edmund]]
* [[Prosper Guéranger]] (4 April 1805 – 30 January 1875), [[Solesmes Abbey|Abbot of Solesmes Abbey]]
* [[Leonard LaRue|Leonard (Marinus) LaRue]] (14 January 1914 - 14 October 2001), American priest
|
*[[Magdalena Mortęska]] (2 December 1554 – 15 February 1631), abbess
* [[Mechtilde of the Blessed Sacrament|Mechtilde de Bar]] (31 December 1614 – 6 April 1698), founder of the [[Benedictine Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament]]
* {{interlanguage link|Adèle Garnier|fr}} (1838–1924)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Farrow |first=Mary |date=2016-10-13 |title=Nun who witnessed multiple Eucharistic miracles on path to sainthood |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/34742/nun-who-witnessed-multiple-eucharistic-miracles-on-path-to-sainthood |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}</ref>
|-
!Other notable persons
|'''Popes'''

* [[Pope Sylvester II]] (c. 946–1003, r. 999–1003)
* [[Pope Paschal II]] (d. 1118, r. 1099–1118)
* [[Pope Gelasius II]] (d. 1119, r. 1118–1119)
* [[Pope Clement VI]] (1291–1352, r. 1342–1352)
* [[Pope Gregory XVI]] (1765–1846, r. 1831–1846)<ref name="Catholic6" />
'''Cardinals and bishops'''
* [[Adam Easton]] (d. 1397)
* [[Gabriel Gifford]] (1554–1629), archbishop
* [[Michael Ellis (bishop)|Michael Ellis]] (1652–1726), bishop
* [[Charles Walmesley]] (1722–1797), bishop
* [[William Placid Morris]] (1794–1872), bishop
* [[John Bede Polding]] (1794–1877), archbishop
* [[William Bernard Ullathorne]] (1806–1889), bishop
* [[Jean-Baptiste-François Pitra]] (1812–1889), cardinal
* [[Roger Vaughan (archbishop)|Roger Vaughan]] (1834–1883), archbishop
* [[Martin Marty (bishop)|Martin Marty]] (1834–1896), bishop<ref name="Catholic4" />
* [[Guglielmo Sanfelice d'Acquavilla]] (1834–1897), cardinal<ref name="Catholic7" />
* [[John Hedley (bishop)|John Hedley]] (1837–1915), bishop
* [[Domenico Serafini]] (1852–1918), cardinal
* [[Francis Aidan Gasquet]] (1846–1929), cardinal
* [[Knut Ansgar Nelson]] (1906–1990), bishop
* [[Basil Hume]] (1923–1999), cardinal
* [[Hans Hermann Groër]] (1919–2003), cardinal
* [[Paul Augustin Mayer]] (1911–2010), cardinal
* [[Placidus Nkalanga]] (1918–2015), bishop<ref>{{cite web |author= |date=9 June 2011 |title=Bishop Gervas Placidus Nkalanga, OSB, of Hanga Abbey Celebrates 50 Years as a Bishop |url=http://hanganews.blogspot.com/2011/06/bishop-gervas-placidus-nkalanga-osb-of.html |work=Hanga News}}</ref>
* [[Daniel M. Buechlein]] (1938–2018), archbishop
* [[Rembert Weakland]] (1927–2022), archbishop
* [[Jerome Hanus]] (1940–), archbishop

'''Monastic leaders'''

* [[Jonas of Bobbio]] (600–659), abbot
* [[Suger]] ({{circa|1081}}–1151), abbot
* [[John Whethamstede]] (d. 1465), abbot
* [[Johannes Trithemius]] (1462–1516), abbot
* [[Laurent Bénard]] (1573–1620), founder of the [[Congregation of Saint Maur|Maurists]]
* [[Mariano Armellino]] (1657–1737), abbot
* [[Antoine Augustin Calmet]] (1672–1757), abbot
* [[Boniface Wimmer]] (1809–1887), archabbot
* [[Maurus Wolter]] (1825–1890), abbot
* [[Joseph Pothier]] (1835–1923), abbot
* [[Andreas Amrhein]] (1844–1927), founder of the [[Ottilien Congregation]]
* [[John Chapman (priest)|John Chapman]] (1865–1933), abbot
* [[Edward Cuthbert Butler]] (1858–1934), abbot<ref name="Catholic3" />
* [[Henri Quentin]] (1872–1935), abbot
* [[Fernand Cabrol]] (1855–1937), abbot
* [[Anscar Vonier]] (1875–1938), abbot

'''Scholars'''

* [[Guido of Arezzo]] (991–1050)
* [[Paul the Deacon]] ({{circa|720}}–799)
* [[Eadmer]] ({{circa|1060|1126}})
* [[Florence of Worcester]] (d. 1118)
* [[Symeon of Durham]] (d. 1130)
* [[Jocelyn de Brakelond]] (d. 1211)
* [[Matthew Paris]] ({{circa|1200}} – 1259)
* [[William of Malmesbury]] ({{circa|1095|1143}})
* [[Gervase of Canterbury]] ({{circa|1141|1210}})
* [[Roger of Wendover]] (d. 1236)
* [[Peter the Deacon]] (d. 1140)
* [[Honoré Bonet]] ({{circa|1340|1410}})
* [[John Lydgate]] ({{circa|1370|1451}})
* [[Louis de Blois]] (1506–1566)
* [[Sigebert Buckley]] ({{circa|1520|1610}})
* [[Benedictus van Haeften]] (1588–1648)
* [[Augustine Baker]] (1575–1641)
* [[Anthony Batt]] (d. 1651)
* [[Jean Mabillon]] (1632–1707)
* [[Magnoald Ziegelbauer]] (1689–1750)
* [[Marquard Herrgott]] (1694–1762)
* [[Pietro Luigi Galletti]] (1724–1790)
* [[Luigi Tosti]] (1811–1897)
* [[Oswald William Moosmuller]] (1842–1901)
* [[Suitbert Bäumer]] (1845–94)
* [[Germain Morin]] (1861–1946)
* [[Lambert Beauduin]] (1873–1960)
* [[Bede Griffiths]] (1906–1993)
* [[Willigis Jäger]] (1925–2020)
* [[Anselm Grün]] (1945–)

'''Oblates'''

* [[Joris-Karl Huysmans]] (1848–1907)<ref name="Catholic8" />
* [[Romano Guardini]] (1885–1968)
* [[Jacques Maritain]] (1882–1973)
* [[Walker Percy]] (1916–1990)
|'''Abbesses'''
*[[Alice Henley]] (died 1470), abbess
* [[Magdalena Mortęska]] (1554–1631), abbess
* [[Catherine Gascoigne]] (1601–1676), abbess
* [[Laurentia McLachlan]] (1866–1953), abbess
'''Scholars'''
* [[Gertrude More]] (1606–1633)
* [[Barbara Constable]] (1617–1674)
* [[Werburg Welch]] (1898–1990)
* [[Felicitas Corrigan]] (1908–2003)
* [[Hildelith Cumming]] (1909–1990)
* [[Mary Boulding]] (1929–2009)
* [[Thomas Welder]] (1940–2020)
* [[Joan Chittister]] (1936–)
* [[Noella Marcellino]] (1951–)
* [[Teresa Forcades]] (1966–)

'''Oblates'''

* [[Dorothy Day]] (1897–1980)
* [[Kathleen Norris (poet)|Kathleen Norris]] (1947–)
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Catholicism}}
* [[Dom Pérignon (monk)|Dom Pierre Pérignon]]
* [[Benedictine Confederation]]
* [[Catholic religious order]]
* [[Cistercians]]
* [[French Romanesque architecture]]
* [[Sisters of Social Service]]
* [[Trappists]]
* [[St Benedict Patron of Europe Association]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* Dom [[Columba Marmion]], ''Christ the Ideal of the Monk – Spiritual Conferences on the Monastic and Religious Life'' (Engl. edition London 1926, trsl. from the French by a nun of Tyburn Convent).
* Mariano Dell'Omo, ''Storia del monachesimo occidentale dal medioevo all'età contemporanea. Il carisma di san Benedetto tra VI e XX secolo''. Jaca Book, Milano 2011. {{ISBN|978-88-16-30493-2}}
*{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Abbey |display=Abbey ''s.v.'' Benedictine |volume=1 |page=13 |short=x}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Order of Saint Benedict}}
* {{Official website|http://www.osb.org}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704171611/http://osb-international.info/ ''Confoederatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti'', the Benedictine Confederation of Congregations] (archived 4 July 2008)
* [http://www.osb.org/intl/confed/confed.html Links of the Congregations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824052710/http://www.osb.org/intl/confed/confed.html |date=24 August 2018 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160629022213/http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/about_us Saint Vincent Archabbey] (archived 29 June 2016)
* [http://www.bonifacewimmer.org/About Boniface WIMMER]
* [http://www.aimintl.org/index.php/en/ The Alliance for International Monasticism]
* [http://www.odis.be/lnk/OR_11713 Benedictines – Abbey of Dendermonde] in [https://www.odis.eu ODIS – Online Database for Intermediary Structures]
* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/MedievalRen.59133 Benedictine rule for nuns in Middle English, Manuscript, ca. 1320, at The Library of Congress]

{{Catholicism}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:History of Catholic monasticism]]
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[[Category:Order of Saint Benedict| ]]