Prefer nothing whatever to Christ.
Benedictine sisters are nuns who live according to the Rule of Saint Benedict : “ora et labora”, that is to say a life of prayer and work, of silence, of welcoming guests and of fraternal charity. By her monastic profession the nun devotes her life to the search for God, promising conversion of life, obedience and stability in the community to which God has called her.
Benedictine nuns are to be found in every continent, numbering 11500 sisters in 470 monasteries. These communities can be grouped in congregations or federations which accentuate different aspects of Benedictine life. It is possible to learn about the history of each congregation or community by visiting the websites of individual monasteries.
Saint Benedict
Saint Benedict (480-547), born in Nursia, left the world of Rome to live the life of a hermit in a cave at Subiaco where, in time, a number of followers came to join him. Towards 529, he founded a monastery at Monte Cassino and it was there that he wrote the Rule, though it was not widely followed at the time of his death.
Saint Gregory the Great
Saint Gregory the Great (540-640), an abbot before he became Pope, spread the Rule throughout Western monasticism. Gradually monastic foundations came to cover Europe.
Saint Benedict of Aniane
In 817, during the Carolingian period, the emperor Louis the Pious upon the advice of Saint Benedict of Aniane, the abbot of the monastery he had founded near Montpellier, imposed the Rule of Saint Benedict on all monastic communities, making it their official code of life.
Trois nouvelles fédérations : Notre-Dame de la Rencontre, Maria Mater Ecclesiæ, Sainte Marie du Mont-Olivet. Mais ces trois nouvelles fédérations sont loin d’épuiser la totalité des abbayes bénédictines. – Voir les News.
.
