Topic summary
St Benedict
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Benedict of Nursia.
Influence
The early Middle Ages have been called "the Benedictine centuries". In April 2008, Pope Benedict XVI discussed the influence St Benedict had on Western Europe. The pope said that "with his life and work St Benedict exercised a fundamental influence on the development of European civilization and culture" and helped Europe to emerge from the "dark night of history" that followed the fall of the Roman Empire.