Saint Benedict of Nursia

By A.Vonn Hartung

A Giclee print of the original ceramic sculpture St. Benedict of Nursia by A.Vonn Hartung. St. Benedict is shown here writing; this is significant for two major reasons. One, because he was a scholar and he was concerned about the sharing of knowledge with the public so that they could advance and have a better life, and especially be closer to Christ and His saints. And two, he is writing in cursive Latin, that is, he’s popularizing Latin and adapting its stilted lettering style into a cursive style that is more easily written. This style and his use of the Vernacular became the beginnings of the Italian language we know today. In the foreground we see a black bird, representing the Raven which saved his life when his bread was poisoned by jealous monks envious of his many superior traits and saintly concerns for those under him, which made him such a good leader. In the background we see Monte Cassino, the monastery he founded some 40 miles south of Rome, which did so much to nourish Christian virtues and enrich European civilization. At its height, the Benedictine order could boast 37,000 monasteries.