21. SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH AND JARROW

And those with him

Our holy Father Benedict was born in 628 into a noble Northumbrian family with the name Biscop Baducing, and was in the service of King Oswy of Northumbria. At the age of twenty-five, he abandoned the world and went with St. Wilfrid, Bishop of York, to Rome. Then he went a second time, after which he became a monk in the monastery of St. Honoratus in Lerins. After two years in the monastery, he went for a third time to Rome, where the pope ordered him to accompany St. Theodore, the newly-ordained archbishop of Canterbury, back to England. This he did, and was made abbot of St. Peter's monastery in Canterbury by St. Theodore.

After ruling this monastery for two years, the saint made a fourth visit to Rome, returning with many books and holy relics. At first he decided to go to the court of King Conwalh of Wessex, who had helped him in the past. But Conwalh died suddently, so Benedict made his way to the court of King Egfrith of Northumbria, who in 674 gave him seventy hides of land to build a monastery.

After a year, during which the saint established his monastery firmly in the tradition of St. Benedict of Nursia and in accordance with the customs he had seen in seventeent other monasteries, he went to Gaul, where he persuaded some Frankish stonemasons and glassmakers to come to England and build a church for him. They came, and taught their craft to local men. The saint also bought vestments and sacred vessels and icons to adorn his church of St. Peter.

In 679 St. Benedict made yet another trip to Rome, returning with innumberable books and relics, and also John, archcantor of the church of St. Peter in Rome, who taught the English monks the liturgy, script and chanting of the Roman Church.

King Egfrith was delighted with the saint's work, and in 682 he gave him another forty hides of land, on which the saint built his second monastery, dedicated to St. Paul. Now he placed Eosterwine as abbot of the monastery of St. Peter, and St. Ceolfrith as abbot of the monastery of St. Paul.

In 685 the saint made his last trip to Rome, and returned with many books, relics, vestments and icons. On his return he found that King Egfrith had been murdered, and that Abbot Eosterwine had died of the plague, together with many of the brethren. He appointed Sigfrid in the place of Eosterwine. But then both Sigfrid and Benedict were struck by illness. Benedict lived for three whole years in a state of paralysis.

Before his death, writes the Venerable Bede, the two abbots «expressed a desire to see one another before they died, and Sigfrid was brought in a litter into the room where Benedict was lying on his bed, though they were placed by the attendants with their heads on the same pillow, they had not the power of their own strength to kiss one another, but were assisted even in this act of fraternal love. After taking counsel with Sigfrid and the other brethren, Benedict sent for Ceolfrith, abbot of St. Paul's, dear to him not by the relationship of the flesh, but by the ties of Christian virtue, and with the consent and approbation of all, made him abbot of both monasteries.»

St. Benedict died on January 14, 689. Abbot Sigfrid died two months later.

St. Benedict is commemorated on January 12.

Holy Father Benedict, pray to God for us!

(Sources: The Venerable Bede, Lives of the Holy Abbots; Anonymous, Life of St. Ceolfrith; David Hugh Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Oxford University Press, 1987, pp. 39–40)