About the Benedictines
Ancient Tradition
Benedictines carry on a monastic tradition that stems from the origins of the Christian monastic movement in the late third century. They regard Saint Benedict as their founder and guide even though he did not establish a Benedictine Order as such. He wrote a Rule for his monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy and he foresaw that it could be used elsewhere.
Geographic Stability
Benedictines of today, both men and women, are characterized as people who take root in a particular place and who are related to the culture and needs of a specific location. At the same time, Benedictine houses vary widely in the type of monastic life they lead. Some pursue an enclosed life with little involvement in the local Church and society; others insist on various degrees of involvement such as education, parochial ministry, evangelization, publication, health care, etc.
Congregational Autonomy
Benedictine monasteries increase in numbers by starting foundations that later become independent. These monastic families — or congregations — unite in a loose Confederation, but each Benedictine monastery is autonomous. Individual communities are grouped into a congregation according to origin or geographic situation for purposes of mutual assistance and common discipline. In 1893 Pope Leo XIII provided the "order" with an abbot primate to oversee Saint Anselm College in Rome and to provide spiritual leadership for the Confederation of Benedictine Congregations.
The followers of Saint Benedict vary much in the way they carry out the thrust of the sixth-century Rule, but in general they retain essential features of their origins — local gatherings of monastics who endeavor to seek God in a common life of prayer, reading, and service.
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