St. Benedict
Patron Saint of Europe and Kidney Disease
St. Benedict is known as being one of the greatest influences on Western monasticism. St. Benedict was born in Rome to an affluent family. He stayed in Rome to study, but was immediately drawn to monasticism. St. Benedict because a hermit and eventually moved to the mountains to live a life of seclusion. After a few years, St. Benedict formed a community of brothers in the mountains and eventually started the famous monastery, Monte Cassino. It was during the formation of Monte Cassino that St. Benedict wrote the influential Rule of St. Benedict, which forms the basis for the Benedictine way of life today.