21 March 547 A.D. Benedict of Nursia Dies at Mt. Cassino, Italy
21 March 547 A.D. Benedict of Nursia Dies at Mt. Cassino, Italy Graves, Dan. “Monastic Innovator, Benedict of Nursia.” Christianity.com. Jun 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/monastic-innovator-benedict-of-nursia-11629712.html . Accessed 20 Mar 2015. For God's sake he deliberately chose the hardships of life and the weariness of labor." So wrote Pope Gregory I about Benedict of Nursia. Benedict, it seems, was born into a well-to-do family in sixth century Italy. At a young age, appalled at the degeneracy of Rome, he renounced wealth, the love of women, the bustle of the city and the promise of power in order to seek God. He took with him only the servant who had nursed him as a child. Later, he left even her behind when he sought to escape the notoriety of a miracle he had worked. Benedict settled in a cave below a monastery in the mountains. For three years, he remained in this place, praying, meditating and maturing in th...