This weekend marks the feast day of Benedict- a 6th century monk who had his own rule, which has survived down the centuries. That rule emphasises moderation, work and prayer.
Our journey this morning will begin in the Great Italian Monastery of Monte Cassino as we learn about the man himself and how he shaped monasticism in Western Europe.
The Benedictine Order still exists across Europe- and we will hear three tales-first from Father Pere Basile, a monk who glorifies God through making wine at the Papal Vineyard of Pope Clement V in Provence in France.
Then to Karol O’Connell, the Mother Superior at Kylemore Abbey in the West of Ireland leading an order of Benedictine Nuns who fled to Ireland after their monastery in Belgium was destroyed in the First World War.
We finish our journey with Abbot Mark Ephrem of Holy Cross Monastery in Rostrevor in County Down - the first new Monastery built here for 800 years.