St Benedict

Pope Leo XIV made an unannounced pilgrimage to the Abbey of Monte Cassino to pray at the tomb of St Benedict and join the Benedictine community for Sext and lunch before returning to Castel Gandolfo Pope Leo XIV made an unannounced private pilgrimage to the Abbey of Monte Cassino and spent several hours with the Benedictine community in prayer. The journey was kept confidential until after the Pope had departed. The Holy See later confirmed that the Pontiff had prayed at the tomb of St Benedict, patron saint of Europe and entrusted the Saint with a “plea for peace in those regions of the world marked by bloodshed and conflict”. The visit came while Pope Leo is spending a period of summer rest at Castel Gandolfo, from where Monte Cassino is within easy travelling distance. The Pope joined the monks for prayer and lunch before returning to the papal residence later in the afternoon. According to the Holy See Press Office, the central moment of the visit was the Pope’s prayer before the tomb of St Benedict. In choosing Monte Cassino, the monastery founded by St Benedict in 529 and regarded as the cradle of Western monasticism, Pope Leo returned to one of the most significant spiritual sites in the Catholic Church. The Pope arrived at the monastery shortly before midday and was welcomed by Abbot Dom Luca Fallica, Prior Jordi Augustí Piqué, Archbishop Emeritus of Gaeta Bernardo D’Onorio and members of the Benedictine community. The visit remained deliberately low-profile, with the monastery having been instructed to maintain strict confidentiality until the Pope’s departure. During his time at the abbey, Pope Leo toured several of its most historically significant sites. Passing through the cloisters, he paused on the Loggia del Paradiso to look across the Liri Valley before continuing into the museum, where he spent time in the section recounting the destruction of Monte Cassino during the Second World War. He also visited the abbey archives and library before entering the basilica, where he prayed at the tombs of St Benedict and his sister, St Scholastica. The Pope later joined the monks for the praying of Sext in the Chapter Hall, sharing in the daily rhythm of Benedictine life before remaining for lunch with the community. As a lasting reminder of the visit, Pope Leo presented the monks with a chalice. Although the pilgrimage had been organised in private, word gradually spread among visitors already present at the abbey. Groups gathered to welcome the Pope with applause as he greeted and blessed those assembled before leaving shortly before 3 p.m. “It was an absolutely unexpected gift,” Abbot Fallica said. “The visit was strictly private and therefore we had been asked to maintain the utmost confidentiality. In fact, it was only confirmed yesterday, so I was able to notify the community only a few hours before the Holy Father’s arrival, and so it was truly all marked by great simplicity and familiarity.” The Abbot added, “I believe the Pope was pleased to be able to visit this place, which he had only been to many years ago when, he told me, he was still a student in Rome.” Monte Cassino was founded by St Benedict in the sixth century. The abbey became the mother house of the Benedictine Order. Its most devastating chapter came during the Second World War, when it was almost completely destroyed during the Battle of Monte Cassino in February 1944 after Allied commanders mistakenly believed German forces were using the monastery as a military position. Following the war, the monastery was rebuilt with support from the Italian state before being rededicated by Pope Paul VI in 1964.