St. Scholastica

Their story

Scholastica was born around 480 in Nursia, in central Italy. According to tradition she was the twin sister of St. Benedict, the father of Western monasticism. Almost everything we know about her comes from a short account by Pope St. Gregory the Great. From a young age she dedicated herself to God. When Benedict founded his great monastery at Monte Cassino, Scholastica settled nearby and is believed to have led a community of women who followed his way of prayer and work. Brother and sister met once a year at a house a short distance from the monastery, where they spent the day praying together and talking about God. Gregory tells the story of their last meeting. As evening came, Scholastica begged Benedict to stay the night so they could keep talking about the joys of heaven. He refused, because his rule did not allow him to spend the night outside the monastery. Scholastica bowed her head and prayed, and suddenly a violent thunderstorm broke out, so fierce that Benedict could not leave. When he asked her what she had done, she answered that she had asked him and he would not listen, so she had asked God, and God had listened. They spent the night in holy conversation. Three days later, Benedict was praying in his cell when he saw his sister's soul rising to heaven in the form of a dove. Scholastica had died. He had her buried in the tomb he had prepared for himself, and he was later laid to rest beside her. Gregory wrote that she was able to do more because she loved more. She is the patron of Benedictine nuns and a model of prayer that trusts in God's love.