Feast date: Jul 11

On July 11, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the sixth-century abbot who gave Christian monasticism its lasting foundation in Western Europe.

For his historic role as the “Father of Western Monasticism,” St. Benedict was declared a co-patron of Europe (along with Saints Cyril and Methodius). St. Benedict is also the patron saint of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate.

In a 2005 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI said St. Benedict was a “powerful reminder of the indispensable Christian roots” of Europe. He cited the monk's instruction to “prefer nothing to the love of Christ,” and asked his intercession “to help us keep Christ firmly at the heart of our lives.”

Born to upper-class parents in modern-day Italy during the year 480, Benedict was sent to Rome to study the humanities. However, he soon became disgusted with the loose morals that prevailed among the students. Withdrawing from the city, he lived briefly with a group of monks, then as a hermit.

The young man spent three years in solitude, facing and overcoming severe temptations through prayer and asceticism. Only after doing so, did he have the confidence to emerge as an organizer of monastic communities. His first monasteries were established in the Anio valley outside Subiaco.

Benedict's monasteries in Subiaco became centers of education for children, a tradition which would continue in the order during his lifetime and beyond. His monastic movement, like its forebears in the Christian East, attracted large numbers of people who were looking to live their faith more deeply.

During 529, Benedict left Subiaco for Monte Cassino, 80 miles south of Rome. The move was geographically and spiritually significant, marking a more public emergence of the Western monastic movement. Benedict destroyed a pagan temple atop the mountain, and built two oratories in its place.

It was most likely at Monte Cassino that the abbot drew up a rule of life, the famous “Rule of St. Benedict,” which emphasised prayer, work, simplicity, and hospitality. Though known as a rule for monks, it is addressed to all those who seek “to do battle for Christ the Lord, the true King.”

Benedict's life was marked by various intrigues and miraculous incidents, which are described in his biography written by Pope St. Gregory the Great. One of the most remarkable was his meeting in 543 with Totila, King of the Goths, in which the abbot rebuked the king's lifestyle and prophesied his death.

St. Scholastica, Benedict's sister, also embraced religious life as a nun. She most likely died shortly before him, around the year 543. In his final years, the abbot himself had a profound mystical experience, which is said to have involved a supernatural vision of God and the whole of creation.

Around the age of 63, Benedict suffered his final illness. He was carried into the church by his fellow monks, where he received the Eucharist for the last time. Held up by his disciples, he raised his hands in prayer for the last time, before dying in their arms.

Although his influence was primarily felt in Western Europe, St. Benedict is also celebrated by the Eastern Catholic churches, and by Eastern Orthodox Christians, on March 14.

This year, a dozen new abuse allegations have been lodged against the famed French priest Abbé Pierre (1912-2007)—bringing the total number of allegations to 45.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1938, Abbé Pierre took part in the French resistance against the Nazis during World War II and was a member of the French parliament from 1945 to 1951. Known for his ministry to the poor and homeless, he became a beloved figure in France; he was also a critic of Catholic teaching on sexual morality. The Paris prosecutor’s office, citing the statute of limitations, has declined to investigate allegations against him.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, has written a message on behalf of Pope Leo XIV to participants in the AI for Good Summit, which is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Humanity is at a crossroads, facing the immense potential generated by the digital revolution driven by Artificial Intelligence,” Cardinal Parolin wrote in his July 10 message, adding:

On behalf of Pope Leo XIV, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to seek ethical clarity and to establish a coordinated local and global governance of AI, based on the shared recognition of the inherent dignity and fundamental freedoms of the human person.

At the conclusion of its summer meeting, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines issued a letter lamenting “the difficult situation of workers in our country: the wages they receive are far below the minimum wage that allows them to provide for their needs and support their families.”

“The Church must set a good example by guaranteeing workers in Church institutions fair wages, benefits, and humane treatment,” the bishops added.

The prelates also expressed concerns about the Senate’s delay in continuing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte. “An impeachment process, when conducted with truth and justice, is a legitimate democratic mechanism for transparency and accountability in governance,” the bishops said.

The Office of Policy and Advocacy of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services has published a summary of migration-related provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The seven-page document, dated July 9, notes that “the legislation covers a broad range of issues, including several provisions that will directly impact the US immigration system, noncitizens, and mixed status families.”

The State of Missouri has enacted legislation forbidding public colleges from taking “any adverse action against a belief-based student association ... on the basis of such association’s viewpoint,” or “based on such association’s requirement that the association’s leaders be committed to furthering the association’s mission.”

The new law will prevent Missouri public universities from following in the footsteps of colleges that have taken action against Catholic and other Christian organizations on the basis of alleged discrimination.

Missouri also enacted legislation permitting public schools to have volunteer chaplains.

In an updated assessment of religious freedom in Syria, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom stated that “loyalists to the transitional authorities have targeted civilians in the west and south through mass sectarian attacks, while Turkish military strikes and support for Islamist militias in the north have continued to pose threats.”

The July report offers overviews of “the end of the Assad regime and its religious freedom abuses,” as well as “post-Assad religious freedom violations, including attacks on religious minorities.”

Pope Leo XIV established the Diocese of Kapsabet, Kenya, on July 10, carving it from the territory of the Diocese of Eldoret. The new diocese has 314,000 Catholics, 36 parishes, and 52 priests; the Eldoret diocese, following the loss of territory to the new diocese, now has 581,000 Catholics, 65 parishes, and 112 priests.

It is the first such action taken by Pope Leo XIV. In 2024, Pope Francis established eight new dioceses; he also merged two Welsh dioceses into one. Earlier in 2025, Pope Francis established four dioceses from larger dioceses.

Pope Leo XIV receives about 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of mail each day, the Italian postal service said in a statement.

“Currently, it is impossible to determine which country writes the most to the Pope,” said Antonello Chidichimo, director of the postal service.

In a prominent front-page article in its July 10 edition, L’Osservatore Romano drew attention to protests in the East African nation of Kenya.

“Over 30 dead in the protests of recent days against bad governance, taxes, corruption, injustice, and poverty,” the Vatican newspaper reported in the article, entitled “Sangue e caos” [Blood and chaos]. “Young people’s demands have gone unheard.”

Father Kizito Sesana, 82, a Comboni missionary, told the newspaper that “the youth protests will not disappear anytime soon. There is now a new consciousness in this generation, and the entire political class is totally disconnected. Their banner is change: they want an end to corruption.”

The nation of 58.2 million (map) is 80% Christian (22% Catholic), 11% Muslim, and 8% ethnic religionist.