Born in Norcia in Umbria about 480. He studied in Rome, and then turned his back on the world and lived in solitude at Subiaco. Disciples came to him and he went to Monte Cassino, where he founded a monastery. He wrote his Rule, which established the spirituality and way of life of monastic communities ever since. He died in 547.

St. Benedict is known to us principally through the Second Book of the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great: "The Life and Miracles of St. Benedict" . This text appeared within 50 years of St. Benedict's death.