St. Scholastica

St. Scholastica (c. 480–c. 543) was the sister—by long-standing tradition, the twin—of St. Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western monasticism. Born at Nursia in central Italy around 480, she is known to history almost entirely through the Dialogues of Pope St. Gregory the Great, written within decades of her death. Gregory relates that she was consecrated to God from her earliest youth. When Benedict established his great monastery at Monte Cassino, Scholastica settled nearby—tradition places her community at Plombariola, a few miles away—where she led a house of women living under her brother's guidance. She is therefore honored as a foundress of Benedictine monastic life for women. Once a year brother and sister would meet at a house near the monastery to spend the day in prayer and holy conversation. Gregory's Dialogues preserve the most beloved story of her life. At their last meeting, Scholastica begged Benedict to stay through the night speaking of the joys of heaven. When he refused, unwilling to break his own rule, she bowed her head in prayer, and a storm broke so violently that he could not leave. "I asked you, and you would not listen," she told him, "so I asked my God, and he did listen." Gregory observes that she proved the stronger because she loved the more. Three days later, Benedict saw her soul rising to heaven in the form of a dove. She died around 543, and Benedict had her buried in the tomb he had prepared for himself at Monte Cassino. Venerated as a saint since the early Middle Ages, long before formal canonization processes, Scholastica is honored on February 10. She is the patroness of Benedictine nuns and is invoked against storms in memory of her famous prayer. Pilgrims still venerate her at the abbey of Monte Cassino, where she rests beside her brother.