Saint Benedict was born at Nursia in Umbria about the 480. Educated at Rome, he began the eremiteic life at Subiaco, where he gathered disciples, and then departed for Monte Cassino. There he established the famous monastery and composed the Benedictine Rule. Because this rule was subsequently adopted throughout Europe, he received the title of patriarch of Western Monasticism. He died on March 21, 547, but since the end of the eighth century, his memory has been observed on this day.