‘Even the local Communists approve of us’
Ed West meets American monks in Italy whose popularity crosses political divides
9 May 2008

The old house would be a dream for any English couple. Set in 12 acres of Umbrian countryside, it comes with its own chapel and overlooks the beautiful old Roman town of Norcia. It needs some work, but then that can be a plus. Except that even the most silver-tongued estate agent would blanch at being that liberal with the truth. The place is a wreck.

The outside yard is piled up with debris and there is a derelict old van stuck deep in mud. Bales of hay lie around, bales that are, I'm pleased to be told, popular locations for local snakes.

"We could do with some builders," Br Benedict says with a smile. But however they manage it, at some time in the future this old pile will be home to 30 monks. They are looking at a 25-year time frame, something that a couple with a young family would not be ecstatic to hear. But these are Benedictine monks and they think in the long term.

Inside, the ground is littered with the sort of random debris that always fills up empty buildings - rocks, beer bottles, cigarette butts. What was left of the ceiling is almost completely collapsed. It will cost a fortune just to make the roof safe. In fact, the place looks like it could be from AD500, after the Barbarians had taken over as freeholders from the Romans.

It's an appropriate start, then, for a group of young men following the Rule of St Benedict of Norcia, who started the rebuilding of Europe near here around that year. Their presence, enthusiasm and confidence in the future are a testimony to the timeless power of the founder of Christian monasticism and patron saint of Europe.

At 20 Benedict, seeing the decay all around him, left the dissolute world of his fellows in Rome and, with a nurse and servant, moved to Enfide (modern Affile) where he met "a company of virtuous men". He went on to found 12 monastic communities, the most famous of which is Monte Cassino.

Benedict's Rules were a mixture of balance, moderation and reasonableness, and monks and nuns across Europe adopted them throughout the Middle Ages, and still inspire men today.

One of them is sub-prior Br Benedict. Raised in Connecticut, he decided to enter monastic life after studying in Tennessee. He arrived in Norcia in 2001, made his solemn vows that year and became a deacon last month. He will be ordained in September.

He is one of nine monks who currently inhabit the Monastery of San Benedetto in Norcia. All but one are American (the exception, an Indonesian, found out about them on the internet).

Apart from the prior, they are all in their 20s. Who would have thought that so many young people would choose a daily life that begins with Matins at 4.15 and Lauds at 6? Certainly not a typical lifestyle for twenty-something men. "Most of us had the normal experience of our generation, but we felt there was something missing," Br Benedict says. "You want to do something radical, something different. We are starting afresh."

History repeats itself. In the early Middle Ages St Benedict produced "a true spiritual ferment" in Europe, and his followers spread across the continent to establish a new cultural unity based on Christianity. But his legacy in Norcia seemed to end in 1808 when Napoleon shut down the monastery.

One hundred and ninety years later an American by the name of Fr Cassian Folsom changed all that. The 43-year-old was living in Rome and "was on fire with the monastic ideal".

Born in Massachusetts and raised a Catholic "with my mother's milk", Fr Cassian was ordained in 1984 and received his doctorate in liturgy in Rome in 1989. But he wanted more: "Even as a novice I always wanted a more authentic and radical living of the monastic life. In 1998 various things came together."

Fr Cassian founded the monastery in Rome on September 3, 1998. For the first two years they lived in a rented novitiate, as he puts it "a glorified apartment in which one room had been changed into a chapel.

"I vividly remember the barking dogs under the chapel window. Since there wasn't enough room for all of us, we renovated the garage and I moved in there. We were poor, but zealous and on fire with the monastic ideal."

But in the Jubilee year they were offered the chance to move to Norcia, birthplace of St Benedict himself. They hired a van and brought their few belongings, with the First Vespers on the First Sunday of Advent.

They received support from on high and low, with Cardinal Ratzinger blessing it himself. "The locals are thrilled," Fr Cassian says. "The reception is extraordinary, with so many acts of goodwill. They're still very generous with us." Even the local Communists approve of their lifestyle: "Support for the monks cuts through political categories."

One of the reasons for their popularity is the Benedictine rule of Stability - staying with a community through good times and bad (the other two being obedience and conversion of manners). Since 2000 the Order has trebled in size, despite (or because of) their rigorous lifestyle. This lifestyle is about the rhythm of life, with the Rule establishing a rhythm in which prayer and work alternate with each other "in a kind of stately dance".

After the pre-dawn start breakfast is at 6.45 before Prime at 7.30. They have free time for study and prayer between 2.45 and 5.30 in summer (only five minutes in winter) and the day ends with Compline at 7.30 followed by bed.

The diet of the monks follows the liturgical calendar, so from September to Lent there is just one meal at 3am.

They are allowed wine, for as Br Benedict puts it: "Benedict said wine is 'not a good drink for monks but they will drink it anyway'." The monks don't eat meat, except on three occasions - Easter, Christmas and - less conventionally - Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving in Benedict's birthplace? It seems strange that it took New Englanders to save European civilisation.

"It's an exchange of gifts" says Fr Cassian. In the US it was the European monks who brought the faith. Now we're taking it back. In England, with Augustine of Canterbury, the whole Roman impulse came from monks."

For many people the comparisons with Benedict and Augustine's time are all around us, which is why the group continues to grow, with two more monks joining this autumn, and many others considering what he calls the "counter-cultural" life.

"For an ordinary Catholic living in the world our society doesn't support the Catholic life. The whole thing is broken and it can't be fixed," he says.

"Perhaps," Fr Cassian says, "we might even find someone from England".

To support the community a registered charity - The Friends of San Benedetto, Norcia - has been established in the UK. It hopes to organise a pilgrimage to Norcia later this year. For further information contact: Stuart Dewar, 15 Main Street, Adlestrop, Glos GL56 0YN or email: sjdewar@tiscali.co.uk. The community also has a website: www.osbnorcia.org