Saint of the Day: St. Benedict Biscop

Abbot (ca. 628-689)

His life

+ Born about the year 628, Benedict (or Benet) grew up among the first generation of Northumbrian Christians. Having been a warrior-companion of King Oswy, he abandoned his military career and set out on a pilgrimage to Rome.

+ Along the way he met and joined Saint Wilfrid at Canterbury, traveled to Lyons with him, and then continued on to Rome, where he became a supporter of Roman authority within the Church.

+ Around the year 664, Benet became a monk at Lerins, made another journey to Rome, and was among those clerics chosen to escort Saint Theodore of Canterbury to England in the year 669.

+ Benet was responsible for the foundation of the great monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow and his remarkable collection of books helped make possible Saint Bede’s later work.

+ A man of deep faith, Benet earned a special debt of gratitude by linking English art and culture to Mediterranean traditions. Saint Benedict Biscop died in the year 689.

For prayer and reflection

“Listen, my child, to the precepts of the master and incline the ear of your heart”—from the Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict

Prayer

Grant us, O Lord, that amid the uncertainties of this world we may cling with all our heart to the things of heaven, for through the Abbot blessed Benedict Biscop you have given us a model of evangelical perfection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For an Abbot)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.