St. Benedict was born at Nursia in Umbria in about 480 and was sent to Rome to be educated, but was repelled by the vices of the city and in about 500 fled to Enfide, thirty miles away. He decided to live the life of a hermit and settled at mountainous Subiaco, where he lived in a cave for three years, fed by a monk named Romanus.

Despite Benedict's desire for solitude, his holiness and austerities became known and he was asked to be their abbot by a community of monks at Vicovaro. He accepted, but when the monks resisted his strict rule and tried to poison him, he returned to Subiaco and soon attracted great numbers of disciples.

He organized them into twelve monasteries under individual priors that he appointed. He made manual work part of the program and soon Subiaco became a centre of spirituality and learning.

However Benedict left suddenly, reportedly because of the efforts of a neighbouring priest, Florentius, to undermine his work, and in about 525 settled at Monte Cassino. He destroyed a pagan temple to Apollo on its crest, brought the people of the neighbouring area back to Christianity, and in about 530 began to build the monastery that was to be the birthplace of Western monasticism.

Soon disciples again flocked to him as his reputation for holiness, wisdom, and miracles spread far and wide. He organized the monks into a single monastic community and wrote his famous rule prescribing common sense, a life of moderate asceticism, prayer, study, and work, and community life under one superior. It stressed obedience, stability, zeal, and had the Divine Office as the centre of monastic life; it was to affect spiritual and monastic life in the West for centuries to come.

While ruling his monks (most of whom, including Benedict, were not ordained), he counselled rulers and Popes, ministered to the poor and destitute about him, and tried to repair the ravages of the Lombard Totila's invasion. He died at Monte Cassino in 547.

Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar, St. Benedict's feast was celebrated on March 21. Today was the feast of St. Pius I who was pope from 140 to 155.