Octave of St. John the Baptist

We are currently in the Octave of St. John the Baptist, which lasts from the Feast of St. John the Baptist's Nativity on June 24th through the Octave Day on July 1st. This is a Common Octave, meaning that the Mass and Office of St. John the Baptist during the Octave days gives way to any feast day above the level of Simple. In practice, the only intra octave day where the Mass of St. John would be celebrated, rather than merely commemorated, would be on June 27th. The other intra octave days would be outranked by the liturgical feasts already on the Calendar of Saints.

Brief History of Octaves:

By the 8th century, Rome had developed liturgical octaves not only for Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas but also for the Epiphany and the feast of the dedication of a church.

After 1568, when Pope Pius V reduced the number of octaves (since by then they had grown considerably), the number of Octaves was still plentiful.  Octaves were classified into several types. Easter and Pentecost had "specially privileged" octaves, during which no other feast whatsoever could be celebrated. Christmas, Epiphany, and Corpus Christi had "privileged" octaves, during which certain highly ranked feasts might be celebrated. The octaves of other feasts allowed even more feasts to be celebrated.

To reduce the repetition of the same liturgy for several days, Pope Leo XIII and Pope St. Pius X made further distinctions, classifying octaves into three primary types: privileged octaves, common octaves, and simple octaves. Privileged octaves were arranged in a hierarchy of first, second, and third orders. For the first half of the 20th century, octaves were ranked in the following manner, which affected holding other celebrations within their timeframes:

• Privileged Octaves
  
  • Privileged Octaves of the First Order
    
    • Octave of Easter
    • Octave of Pentecost
  • Privileged Octaves of the Second Order
    
    • Octave of Epiphany
    • Octave of Corpus Christi
  • Privileged Octaves of the Third Order
    
    • Octave of Christmas
    • Octave of the Ascension
    • Octave of the Sacred Heart

• Common Octaves
  
  • Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM
  • Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph
  • Octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
  • Octave of Saints Peter and Paul
  • Octave of All Saints
  • Octave of the Assumption of the BVM

• Simple Octaves
  
  • Octave of St. Stephen
  • Octave of St. John the Apostle
• Octave of the Holy Innocents 

Traditional Catholics still attached to the pre-1955 Missal will be familiar with the above list of Octaves. We can live out this forgotten Octave by adding to our daily prayers the Collect from the Nativity of the Lord's Precursor.

Collect:

O God, Who hast made this day worthy of honor by the birth of blessed John: grant to Thy people the grace of spiritual joys, and direct the minds of all the faithful into the way of eternal salvation. Through our Lord.

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Nativity of St. John the Baptist - A Former Holy Day of Obligation

Birth of St. John the Baptist: Giordano Luca (1670's), The Hermitage

Among the casualties of liturgical change and relaxation in discipline in the past few centuries has been the loss of importance for the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist on June 24th. In "Christian Feasts and Customs," Father Weiser writes of the importance of the Feast of St. John's Nativity:

"The Council of Agde, in 506, listed the Nativity of Saint John among the highest feasts of the year, a day on which all faithful had to attend Mass and abstain from servile work. Indeed, so great was the rank of this festival that, just as on Christmas, three Masses were celebrated, one during the vigil service, the second at dawn, the third in the morning. In 1022, a synod at Seligenstadt, Germany, prescribed a fourteen-day fast and abstinence in preparation for the Feast of the Baptist. This, however, was never accepted into universal practice by the Roman authorities."

By the time of the changes to the Holy Days of Obligation in 1642, Pope Urban VIII kept the Nativity of St. John the Baptist as a day of precept. Why the importance? Father Wiser explains:

"The days of all the Apostles were raised to the rank of public holydays in 932. The feasts of Saint Michael, Saint Stephen, Saint John the Baptist, and other saints of the early centuries were celebrated in the past as holydays among all Christian nations."

By the time of his writing in the 1950s, in regards to the feasts of saints (i.e., not Feasts of our Lord), only St. Joseph, Ss. Peter and Paul, All Saints, and the Marian feasts of the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception remained as days of precept. And of these, Saint Joseph and Ss. Peter and Paul were exempt from obligation in the United States as they had been previously abrogated.

The Irish Ecclesiastical Record from 1882

In Ireland, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist remained as a day of full precept longer than many other days. When changes were made to the Irish holydays in 1755 under Pope Benedict XIV and in 1778 under Pope Pius VI, the Nativity of St. John remained as a day of double precept, even when the feasts of the apostles were reduced to single precept. It was not abolished as a day of precept until 1831 in Ireland

The southeastern Colonies in modern-day Florida and Lousiana kept the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist as a day of fasting for much longer than other places. Even today, the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist is celebrated with bonfires in many Catholic nations. And St. John the Baptist's Nativity is a public holiday in Quebec and Puerto Rico and Catalonia (where Barcelona is).

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist is one of only three birthdays celebrated by the Church - the other two are of our Lord and our Lady. The uniqueness of the Nativity of St. John and its previous rank as one of the primary holydays should instill in us greater devotion to this festival day, and a greater desire to do penance in advance.

Dom Gueranger, writing on the great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord's Forerunner, relates the following:

On this day, therefore, let us too imitate the Church; let us avoid that forgetfulness which bespeaks ingratitude; let us hail, with thanksgiving and heartfelt gladness, the arrival of him who promises our Saviour to us. Already Christmas is announced. On the Lateran Piazza (or Square) the faithful Roman people will keep vigil to-night, awaiting the hour which will allow the eve's strict fast and abstinence to be broken, when they may give themselves up to innocent enjoyment, the prelude of those rejoicings wherewith, six months hence, they will be greeting the Emmanuel. 

St John's vigil is no longer of precept. Formerly, however, not one day’s fasting only, but an entire Lent was observed at the approach of the Nativity of the Precursor, resembling in its length and severity that of the Advent of our Lord. The more severe had been the holy exactions of the preparation, the more prized and the better appreciated would be the festival. After seeing the penance of St John's fast equalled to the austerity of that preceding Christmas, is it not surprising to behold the Church in her liturgy making the two Nativities closely resemble one another, to a degree that would be apt to stagger the limping faith of many nowadays? 

The Nativity of St John, like that of our Lord, was celebrated by three Masses: the first, in the dead of night, commemorated his title of Precursor; the second, at daybreak, honoured the baptism he conferred; the third, at the hour of Terce, hailed his sanctity. The preparation of the bride, the consecration of the Bridegroom, his own peerless holiness: a threefold triumph, which at once linked the servant to the Master, and deserved the homage of a triple sacrifice to God the Thrice-Holy, manifested to John in the plurality of his Persons, and revealed by him to the Church. In like manner, as there were formerly two Matins on Christmas night, so, in many places, a double Office was celebrated on the feast of St John, as Durandus of Mende, following Honorius of Autun, informs us. The first Office began at the decline of day; it was without Alleluia, in order to signify the time of the Law and the Prophets which lasted up to St John. The second Office, begun in the middle of the night, terminated at dawn; this was sung with Alleluia, to denote the opening of the time of grace and of the kingdom of God.

Collect:

O God, Who hast made this day worthy of honor by the birth of blessed John: grant to Thy people the grace of spiritual joys, and direct the minds of all the faithful into the way of eternal salvation. Through our Lord.

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Sermon for Sunday Within the Octave of the Sacred Heart

A fantastic sermon on this Sunday Within the Octave of the Sacred Heart. Well worth the listen! And a great activity after listening is to pray the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart.

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The Most Pure Heart of Our Lady (Second Saturday after Corpus Christi)

On the Second Saturday after Corpus Christi is the Mass in Some Places (pro aliquibus locis) of the Most Pure Heart of Our Lady. Listed in the back of the Angelus Press Missal with other Masses "in some places and congregations" is a short description: "Mary began her journey along the road to perfection at a height to which other Saints arrive only at the end of a long life of saintliness. In all other children of Adam original sin prevented the divine generosity from having a free course. But Mary was created immaculate, and therefore the grace of God streamed into her soul without check or hindrance. Her sinlessness, her heavenly purity, directed every action, every moment to God. Her Heart was the batter and model of all virtues, of her purity. 'Blessed are the pure in heart!'"

INTROIT Ps. 44. 14-15

All the glory of the King's Daughter is within, in golden borders, clothed round about with variety: after her shall virgins be brought to the King, her neighbours shall be brought unto thee. (P.T. Alleluia, alleluia). Ps. My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak of my works to the King. Glory be to the Father . . .

COLLECT  

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Heart of Blessed Mary the Virgin didst prepare a dwelling worthy of the Holy Ghost: mercifully grant, that we who with devout minds celebrate the festival of that most pure Heart, may be enabled to live according to Thine own Heart. Through our Lord. 

EPISTLE Canticles, 8. 6-7

Put me as a seal upon thy heart; as a seal upon thine arms; for love is strong as death; jealousy is hard as hell; the lamps thereof are lamps of fire and flames. Many waters cannot quench charity, nor shall the floods drown it; if a man have given all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.

GRADUAL Wisdom 7:25-26

Naught that is defied cometh into her: she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God's Majesty; and the image of His goodness. (Cant. 6. 2). I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feedeth among the lilies.

Alleluia, alleluia. My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Alleluia.

GOSPEL Luke 2:48-51

At that time: The Mother of Jesus said to Him: Son, why hast Thou done so to us? behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. And He said to them: How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the word that He spoke unto them. And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. And His Mother kept all these words in her heart.

OFFERTORY Jud 15:11

Because thou hast done manfully, and hast strengthened thy heart: therefore also the hand of the Lord hath strengthened thee, and thou shalt be blessed forever.

SECRET  

To Thy majesty, O Lord, we offer up the Lamb without blemish, beseeching Thee that in our hearts may be enkindled that divine fire, which so ineffably consumed the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the same Lord.

COMMUNION Canticles. 2. 3 

Under the shadow of Him whom I desired have I sat down, and His fruit is sweet to my taste.

POSTCOMMUNION

Refreshed by Thy divine gifts, we humbly entreat Thee, O Lord, that by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose most pure Heart we now solemnly celebrate, we may be delivered from present dangers, and obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through our Lord. 

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St. Gregory Barbarigo

In the 1962 Missal, the Feast of St. Gregory Barbarigo falls on June 17th. Previously, this day was a feria and often falls during the Octave of Corpus Christi or the Octave of the Sacred Heart. St. Gregory Barbarigo was Italian Cardinal Archbishop of Padua renowned for giving away his own household goods for the relief of the poor, and for traveling to every village throughout his diocese to teach and preach.

Matins Reading from the 1961 Breviary:

Gregory Barbarigo, born at Venice of a very old family, obtained his degree in Canon and Civil Law Magna cum Laude at the college of Padua. While attending the peace congress of Muenster at the age of nineteen, he met the papal legate Fabio Chigi, and with his encouragement decided to became an ecclesiastic, and was admitted to holy orders. When Fabio Chigi became pope under the name of Alexander VII, he appointed Gregory bishop of Bergamo, and soon raised him to the college of Cardinals, transferring his to the See of Padua. In entering upon his episcopal duties, he strove to model himself upon St. Charles Borromeo. It was his lifelong endeavor to extirpate vices and cultivate virtues in obedience, to the warnings and decrees of the sacred synod of Trent. In both dioceses he enlarged the seminaries. At Padua especially he improved the library, and the press, which published books for distribution among the peoples of the Near East. He strenuously fostered Catechetical instruction and zealously traveled to every village of the diocese to teach and preach. He was distinguished for his works of charity and the holiness of his life. So generous was he to the needy and poor, that he even give away his household goods, his clothes and his bed to help them. Finally, after a brief illness, he fell asleep peacefully in the Lord on June 18, 1697. Renowned for his merits and his virtues, he was inscribed among the Blessed by Clement XIII and among the Saints by John XXIII.

St. Barbarigo's beatification was celebrated in 1761 under Pope Clement XIII, while Pope John XXIII canonized the late cardinal in 1960. John XXIII held Barbarigo as a great role model and fostered a devotion to him since the pope had hailed from Bergamo. His liturgical feast was affixed to 17 June and remains so in the General Roman Calendar of 1960 celebrated by Traditional Catholic priests who keep the 1962 Missal. In 1969, his feast was moved to 18 June as part of the General Roman Calendar of 1969, where it remains for priests who offer the Novus Ordo.

Collect:

O God, who willed that Blessed Gregory, Your Confessor and Bishop, be renowned for the care of his flock and compassion for the poor; favorably grant that we who honor his merits may imitate the example of his charity. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Within the Octave of Corpus Christi

We are currently in the Octave of Corpus Christi, another casualty in 1955 that few people know of or spiritually celebrate anymore. Yet, in an interesting development, the Vatican has given quasi approval for priests to begin to celebrate this Octave again. Dr. Peter Kwasniewski explains in a Facebook Post published yesterday: "The 2020 Ordo for the Usus Antiquior, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, says quite plainly that the Octave of Corpus Christi may be observed. (Incidentally, it also says that the Preface of the Nativity may be used.) It doesn't explain HOW it is it to be observed, but probably assumes that anyone who is competent to read these rubrics in Latin can figure out from an old missal what to do."

Brief History of Octaves:

By the 8th century, Rome had developed liturgical octaves not only for Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas but also for the Epiphany and the feast of the dedication of a church.

After 1568, when Pope Pius V reduced the number of octaves (since by then they had grown considerably), the number of Octaves was still plentiful.  Octaves were classified into several types. Easter and Pentecost had "specially privileged" octaves, during which no other feast whatsoever could be celebrated. Christmas, Epiphany, and Corpus Christi had "privileged" octaves, during which certain highly ranked feasts might be celebrated. The octaves of other feasts allowed even more feasts to be celebrated.

To reduce the repetition of the same liturgy for several days, Pope Leo XIII and Pope St. Pius X made further distinctions, classifying octaves into three primary types: privileged octaves, common octaves, and simple octaves. Privileged octaves were arranged in a hierarchy of first, second, and third orders. For the first half of the 20th century, octaves were ranked in the following manner, which affected holding other celebrations within their timeframes:

• Privileged Octaves
  
  • Privileged Octaves of the First Order
    
    • Octave of Easter
    • Octave of Pentecost
  • Privileged Octaves of the Second Order
    
    • Octave of Epiphany
    • Octave of Corpus Christi
  • Privileged Octaves of the Third Order
    
    • Octave of Christmas
    • Octave of the Ascension
    • Octave of the Sacred Heart

• Common Octaves
  
  • Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM
  • Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph
  • Octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
  • Octave of Saints Peter and Paul
  • Octave of All Saints
  • Octave of the Assumption of the BVM

• Simple Octaves
  
  • Octave of St. Stephen
  • Octave of St. John the Apostle
• Octave of the Holy Innocents 

The Octave of Corpus Christi is a privileged octave of the second order. This means that no other feast may be celebrated during the Octave except for Doubles of the First Class. All other feasts are either transferred to after the octave or reduced to commemorations.

Traditional Catholics still attached to the pre-1955 Missal will be familiar with the above list of Octaves. We can live out this forgotten Octave by adding to our daily prayers the Collect from Corpus Christi:

Collect:

O God, we possess a lasting memorial of Your Passion in this wondrous Sacrament. Grant that we may so venerate the mysteries of Your Body and Blood that we may always feel within ourselves the effects of Your redemption; who lives and rules with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

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The Apostles Fast

The observance of a fast leading up to the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul also likely originated in the Early Church by the time of Pope St. Leo the Great around the year 461.  While it subsequently fell out of observance in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Catholic Church still observes this fast to some extent.

The Roman Catholic Church though maintained the summer Ember Days during this time, in addition to the traditional fast on the Vigil of Sts. Peter and Paul, until modern times. The Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul was kept as a fast day until 1917. As a result, only a fragment of the fasting that was formerly practiced persisted in the Roman Rite.

Fr. R. Janin summarizes the Traditional Byzantine Fast and Abstinence observance for the Apostles Fast:

This varies from 9 to 42 days depending on the feast of Easter. It begins on the first Monday after Pentecost until the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. This Lent has the same rules as Great Lent but oil and fish are tolerated (in some places) except on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Even in the Eastern Churches, there is a little divergence on the date when the Fast begins. The Coptic and Old Syrian traditions keep the fast on the First Monday after Pentecost (as noted above), yet in the current Byzantine tradition, the fast begins on the Second Monday after Pentecost (i.e., the day following All Saints Sunday in their calendar).

Now that we Roman Catholics have completed the Octave of Pentecost, we can continue our Ember Day fasts through the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul as voluntary penance in order to better prepare for the great feast of Ss. Peter and Paul and to offer up our fast for good and holy priests. We often forget that Ss. Peter and Paul is a Holy Day of Obligation on the Universal Calendar, and it was observed as a Holy Day of Obligation in America up until 1840. Only by adequately preparing for this feastday can we appreciate the importance of this and all of the feasts of the Apostles.

Let us pray:

Preserve us, O Lord, we beseech thee, from all dangers of soul and body: and by the intercession of the glorious and blessed Mary, the ever Virgin-Mother of God, of blessed Joseph, of thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul and of all the saints, grant us, in thy mercy, health and peace; that all adversities and errors being removed, thy Church may serve thee with undisturbed liberty.

Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.

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The Athanasian Creed

Today on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, the Athanasian Creed is prayed in the 1961 Divine Office during Prime.

Before the changes to the Office in 1955/1956, the rubrics in place under Divinu Afflatu promulgated by St. Pius X were in force. And per those rubrics, the Athanasian Creed was said on all Sundays after Epiphany and Sundays after Pentecost which did not fall within Octaves or on which a feast of a rank of Double or higher was celebrated or commemorated, in addition to being prayed on Trinity Sunday.

Thus even Traditional priests who say the 1961 Breviary, will only pray this Creed once a year, on this Sunday. It is as follows:

Camedule Monks in prayer

WHOSOEVER WILL BE SAVED, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible,  the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal.

And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord.

For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be both God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other; none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved is must think thus of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of his Mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.

Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching his manhood; Who, although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh but by taking of the Manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

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Our Lady of Grace (Our Lady of Mentorella)

Distinct from Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Graces, which is celebrated in some places on May 31st, Our Blessed Mother is honored under the title "Our Lady of Grace" on June 9th. Like the Feast of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces, Our Lady of Grace is celebrated only in certain places and is not part of the Church's Universal Calendar.

Feast Days of Our Blessed Mother for Every Day of the Year From The Woman in Orbit, Compiled by Sister Manetta Lamberty, S.C.C. Copyright 1966 and accessed via Our Lady's Rosary Makers states:

"High up in the Sabine Mountains of Italy, about 35 miles from Rome, stands an ancient and venerable Shrine of our Lady under the title of Our Lady Mentorella, Mother of Grace.  To Italian peasants who dwell in the surrounding country the place upon which the shrine stands is simply known as Mentorella.

"The place and Shrine of Mentorella are considered sacred because as a tradition tells us at the great cliff just behind the shrine, the miraculous conversion of Placid, an officer in the army of Trajan, who was later to be called St. Eustace, took place.  He there beheld, it is said, Our Lord crucified between the antlers of a great stag, which as a huntsman he had pursued.

"The Shrine of Our Lady of Mentorello, Mother of Grace, was built about a thousand years ago though various objects of religion contained therein are much older.  The statue of Our Lady encased in glass and placed upon the marble baldachino of the main altar, dates back at least to the twelfth century.  Mentorella’s greatest claim to renown lies in the fact that the shrine is a place of pilgrimage and of special devotion to the Blessed Mother of God.  The original church was built by Constantine and consecrated by Pope St. Sylvester.

"Tradition has it that St. Benedict lived for some time before he founded the famous monastery of Subiaco, in a cave immediately behind the Mentorella church."

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