Benedictine Education

Education within the Benedictine Tradition

The origin of monastic schools can be traced to the beginnings of Benedictine life in the sixth century. Monasteries from their founding became places of reading, study and learning because it was imperative for monastics to be educated to read the psalms and practice lectio divina . Over time, and long before universities or colleges in our sense of the term had arisen, monasteries became places of learning for people who came to learn alongside the monastics. Hospitality simply would not allow these people to be turned away and great life was found in this broader monastic and lay engagement in education.

Through many centuries, monasteries have cultivated arts and letters. They have stewarded knowledge of the past in scriptoria and libraries, and they have promoted understandings of the earth and wise use of its resources. This work has engaged the labors of countless individuals and,
taken together, it has been a source of social, economic and cultural grounding for entire civilizations. Benedictine colleges and universities participate in this great saga, seeking to cultivate understanding among their faculty, staff and students of time-honored values that make full, worthwhile human lives possible.

From: http://www.ben.edu/cmi/upload/Education-within-the-Benedictine-Wisdom-Tradition.pdf