Carmen Álvarez Cuadrado
It stood at the heart of the Saint Benedict's Rule before being plundered by Napoleon and reduced to ruins during World War II.
All this occurred at the Abbey of Montecassino, about 80 miles from Rome. Pope Leo XIV paid a surprise visit to the monastery during his summer vacation. For Europe and the Church, this place is of great significance. It was founded by St. Benedict in 529 AD.
That is why it is considered the birthplace of Ora et Labora, the Benedictine Rule. The monks devoted several hours a day to reading sacred texts. It might seem simple, but it was anything but.
Gutenberg wouldn't invent the printing press until more than 900 years later. Books had to be written entirely by hand and then copied from start to finish. This was done in the scriptorium, the workshop dedicated to the preservation and copying of manuscripts.
Montecassino suffered several attacks, one of which was carried out by Napoleon. Although he never set foot there himself, his troops did. They did not destroy it, but they plundered it, confiscated the lands, and dissolved the order, forcing the monks to flee and save their historical archives.
Montecassino's darkest chapter came in 1944. The hill on which the abbey is built blocked the Allied advance toward Rome. On February 15, a catastrophic miscalculation occurred: under the impression that German troops were hiding there, more than 200 bombers reduced the abbey to rubble.
It was later rebuilt exactly as it had been, and its basilica reconsecrated by Pope Paul VI, in 1964. He then proclaimed St. Benedict the patron of Europe.
Decades later, in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI visited the site on the 65th anniversary of the bombing to pray for peace, just as Pope Leo XIV has done.
