Biographical note

Scholastica became a nun and lived near Montecassino under the direction of her brother, Saint Benedict. She is regarded as the first nun of the Benedictine Order. Saint Gregory narrates that, at her last meeting with her brother, she obtained by prayer a sudden heavy rainstorm, which prevented Benedict from returning to his monastery and thus prolonged their interview through the night: three days later Benedict saw her soul ascend to heaven in the semblance of a dove. The tradition that Saint Scholastica was a nun dates from the 11th century; before then she was considered a devout and holy woman living in the vicinity of the Abbey of Montecassino.

(paraphrased from The Book of Saints : A Dictionary of Persons Canonized or Beatified by the Catholic Church. 5th edition. New York: Crowell, 1966.)

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