Saint Benedict, Left Panel of Triptych, Hans Memling, 1487

Saint Benedict (c. 480-547) is the founder of the monastic order known as the Benedictines, and is known as the father of Western monasticism. This celebrated abbot was famous for miracles attributed to his prayer. His great legacy is the rule he wrote for monasteries, which introduced practicality, order, and community living into monastic life in the West. His rule has inspired countless religious vocations and the founding of new religious orders up to the present day.

The Chaplet of Saint Benedict prays for the saint's powerful intercession for an intention.

St. Benedict is particularly invoked against evil. The medal of Saint Benedict is a powerful sacramental against evil and the history of this medal is provided below. The medal itself has an important prayer used in the Rite of Exorcism, in abbreviated form, on one side and an image of St. Benedict on the other.

The Chaplet of Saint Benedict

A slightly longer form and a shorter form are provided. They use the same chaplet beads or can be prayed using nine of the rosary beads.

Long Form of Chaplet

Opening Prayer  (said on the Crucifix, or St. Benedict's Medal if there is no Crucifix)

Glorious Saint Benedict, sublime model of virtue, pure vessel of God's grace! Behold me humbly kneeling at your feet. I implore you in your loving kindness to pray for me before the throne of God. To you I have recourse in the dangers that daily surround me. Shield me against my selfishness and my indifference to God and to my neighbor. Inspire me to imitate you in all things. May your blessing be with me always, so that I may see and serve Christ in others and work for His kingdom.

Graciously obtain for me from God those favors and graces which I need so much in the trials, miseries and afflictions of life. Your heart was always full of love, compassion and mercy toward those who were afflicted or troubled in any way. You never dismissed without consolation and assistance anyone who had recourse to you. I therefore invoke your powerful intercession, confident in the hope that you will hear my prayers and obtain for me the special grace and favour I earnestly implore. [mention your petition]

Help me, great Saint Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God, to run in the sweetness of His loving will, and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven. Amen.

Nine Prayers

On each triplet of three beads, pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Concluding Prayer, Saint Benedict's Prayer for the Gifts to Seek God and Live in Him (said on the St. Benedict's Medal, or on the Crucifix if there is no St. Benedict's Medal)

Father, in your goodness grant me the intellect to comprehend you, the perception to discern you, and the reason to appreciate you. In your kindness endow me with the diligence to look for you, the wisdom to discover you, and the spirit to apprehend you. In your graciousness bestow on me a heart to contemplate you, ears to hear you, eyes to see you, and a tongue to speak of you. In your mercy confer on me a conversation pleasing to you, the patience to wait for you, and the perseverance to long for you. Grant me a perfect end - your holy presence. Amen.

Saint Benedict admitting Saints into the Order, Lorenzo Monaco (1370-1425)

Short Form of Chaplet

Sign of the Cross and Apostles' Creed

While holding the crucifix (or the St. Benedict's Medal if there is no Crucifix) make the sign of the cross, and recite the Apostles’​ ​Creed.

In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into Hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Prayer

Holy St. Benedict, we honour you for your self-sacrifice and solitary devotion to our Lord. May your life of prayer and contemplation inspire in all of us a similar respect for holiness and deep spirituality. We thank you for the Rule of St. Benedict and the strength and example of your monastic commitment. All things begin when we listen to the voice of God. Amen.

Nine Prayers

On the nine beads, pray three Our​ ​Fathers​, three Hail​ ​Marys​ and three Glory​ ​Be​. Or you can pray one Our​ ​Father​, one Hail​ ​Mary​, and one Glory​ ​Be​, three times.

Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

St. Benedict and the Poisoned Wine, Niccolo di Pietro, c. 1415-1420

The Medal of Saint Benedict

The medal in current use is the Jubilee medal designed by the monk Desiderius Lenz, of the Beuron Art School. He designed it in 1880 for the 1400th anniversary of the birth of St. Benedict under the supervision of the Very Rev. Boniface Krug (1838-1909), the prior of the Benedictine Abbey of Montecassino in Italy.

Front of the Medal

The front of the medal depicts St. Benedict holding a cross and his rule. To one side is a poisoned cup and a raven on the other, references to the saint surviving an attempt on his life with poison wine, and to two crows who accompanied him. Above the cup are the words:

Crux sancti patris Benedicti
(The Cross of [our] Holy Father Benedict)

Surrounding St. Benedict are the words:

Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur!
("May we be strengthened by his presence in the hour of our death")

This is a reference to the saint being a Patron of a Happy Death along with St. Joseph.

Below St. Benedict is: ex SM Casino MDCCCLXXX meaning from holy Monte Cassino, 1880. This is the medal struck to commemorate the 1400th anniversary of the birth of Saint Benedict.

Back of the Medal

The back of the medal depicts a cross with the letters C S S M L - N D S M D.

These are the initials of the words:

Crux sacra sit mihi lux! Non draco sit mihi dux!
("May the holy cross be my light! May the dragon never be my overlord!")

Around the cross in the inner ring are larger letters, C S P B, which are initials for:

Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti
("The Cross of [our] Holy Father Benedict").

Surrounding the outside back of the medal are the letters V R S N S M V - S M Q L I V B which initials refer to the prayer of the Rite of Exorcism:

Vade retro Satana! Nunquam suade mihi vana!
Sunt mala quae libas. Ipse venena bibas!
("Begone Satan! Never tempt me with your vanities!
What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!")

Finally, at the top is the word PAX which means "peace."

Saint Benedict Destroying Idols, Friar Juan Rizi, 1662

History of the Medal of Saint Benedict

The following history is taken from the Sisters of Mount Carmel, cloistered, contemplative Carmelite nuns, at the Carmelite Monastery of the Sacred Hearts in Colorado Springs, United States. These wonderful religious sisters hand make rosaries and chaplets, and sell the medal of Saint Benedict.

Medals, crosses, rosaries, statues, paintings, and other religious articles have long been used as a means of fostering and expressing our religious devotion to God and the saints. Icons, or painted images of Christ and the saints, are especially popular among Eastern Christians as an aid to Christian piety and devotion.

The use of any religious article is therefore intended as a means of reminding us of God and of stirring up in us a ready willingness and desire to serve God and our neighbour. With this understanding we reject any use of religious articles as if they were mere charms or had some magic power to bring us good luck or better health. Such is not the Christian attitude. The use of this Medal (or any sacramental) has nothing to do with the pagan practice of amulets and good luck charms. The graces and favours bestowed are the fruit of the faith in Christ Crucified, of (in this case) the powerful intercession of St. Benedict and of the blessings which Holy Church gives to the medal and those who wear it. The medal must be blessed! Only then can one benefit from the special blessings and exorcisms bestowed to the medal by the Church.

There is no special way prescribed for carrying or wearing the Medal of St. Benedict. It can be worn on a chain around the neck, attached to one's rosary, kept in one's pocket or purse, or placed in one's car or home. The medal is often put into the foundations of houses and building, on the walls of barns and sheds, or in one's place of business.

The purpose of using the medal in any of the above ways is to call down God's blessing and protection upon us, wherever we are, and upon our homes and possessions, especially through the intercession of St. Benedict. By the conscious and devout use of the medal, it becomes, as it were, a constant silent prayer and reminder to us of our dignity as followers of Christ.

For the early Christians, the cross was a favourite symbol and badge of their faith in Christ. From the writings of St. Gregory the Great (540-604), we know that St. Benedict had a deep faith in the Cross and worked miracles with the sign of the cross. This faith in, and special devotion to, the Cross was passed on to succeeding generations of Benedictines.

Devotion to the Cross of Christ also gave rise to the striking of medals that bore the image of St. Benedict holding a cross aloft in his right hand and his Rule for Monasteries in the other hand. Thus, the Cross has always been closely associated with the Medal of St. Benedict, which is often referred to as the Medal-Cross of St. Benedict.

In the course of time, other additions were made, such as the Latin petition on the margin of the medal, asking that by St. Benedict's presence we may be strengthened in the hour of death.

It is not known just when the first medal of St. Benedict was struck. At some point in history, a series of capital letters was placed around the large figure of the cross on the reverse side of the medal. For a long time the meaning of these letters was unknown, but in 1647 a manuscript dating back to 1415 was found at the Abbey of Metten in Bavaria, giving an explanation of the letters. They are the initial letters of a Latin prayer of exorcism against Satan.

The above features were finally incorporated in a newly designed medal struck in 1880 under the supervision of the monks of Montecassino, Italy, to mark the 1400th anniversary of the birth of St. Benedict. The design of this medal was produced at St. Martin's Archabbey, Beuron, Germany, at the request of the prior of Montecassino, Very Rev. Boniface Krug OSB (1838-1909). Prior Boniface was a native of Baltimore and originally a monk of St. Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, until he was chosen to become prior and latter archabbot of Montecassino.

Since that time, the Jubilee Medal of 1880 has proven to be more popular throughout the Christian world than any other medal ever struck to honour St. Benedict.

Saint Benedict, Middle Panel of Polyptych for High Altar of S. Pietro in Perugia, Perugino (Pietro Vannucci), c. 1450

This Webpage first posted on

The Benedictine Feast Day of Saint Benedict, 21 March 2022.

Immaculate Queen of Peace, pray for us.