St.Benedict

At the roots of European culture

Europe sank its roots into the work of evangelisation and cultural unification of its peoples carried out by the Church following the collapse of the Roman Empire. The contribution of the Benedictine monks was essential to this work. The Benedictine monasteries became centres for the diffusion of Christianity in the Old World, but were also excellent examples of civil living and made a decisive contribution to the moral and cultural rebirth of the continent after the barbarian invasions. As true communities, the monasteries were like miniature societies, in which time was spent not just on spiritual and meditative activities, but also cultural, administrative and productive work. Within their walls, on the one hand, there was prayer and study, the pursuit of culture and knowledge and the collection and organisation of manuscripts and documents: on the other hand, time was spent cultivating vegetable gardens and fields, administrating the community’s resources, running pharmacies where herbs gathered by the monks were made into medicaments and finally cooking and developing recipes.

This experience, however, was not confined within the closed walls of the convent, but was exported into society.Under the guidance of the Benedictine monks, the populations of Europe learned to drain the marshes, cut down the forests, cultivate the land, build new roads and to read and write. In this way the message spread by the Benedictine monastic communities in Europe contributed to the development of the individual and modern European society, representing, as it still does today, an important point of reference for democratic and civil values.