The Spiritual Legacy
of Saint Benedict

On 21 March each year, Benedictines around the world celebrate the transitus, the passing to eternity, of their founder. It is celebrated with solemnity as his passing is recorded with such nobility and beauty in The Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great. The text reads: “Six days before Benedict was to pass to eternity, he ordered his tomb to be opened, and he was greatly afflicted with a severe fever throughout those six days. Then on the sixth day of his illness, he ordered them to carry him into the church, and there to give him the Holy Eucharist. He then stood between the hands of his brothers, and with arms outstretched toward heaven, and between his prayers, he breathed out his spirit” (Dialogues 37). Benedictines throughout the world honor this day of Benedict’s passing to eternal life, grateful for the tremendous spiritual legacy ...