Who was St. Bede? Meet the namesake of our monastery in Illinois.
When we opened our doors in 1890, we chose St. Bede as the patron saint of both our monastery and our school.
St. Bede is a noted English writer and scholar, whose work greatly influenced both monastic scholarship as well as broader Catholic teaching throughout the Middle Ages. His dedication to learning, teaching, and writing makes him the perfect patron for both our monastery and school.
Understanding key figures in monastic history is essential when exploring how to become a monk. St. Bede is a part of a tradition that spans centuries and continues to influence our order today.
The life of Saint Bede
Our understanding of St. Bede’s life is not perfect. Much of it comes from his own writing, specifically his most famous work The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the conclusion of which includes a brief autobiography of Bede.
In 673, he was born in the kingdom of Northumbria, in the north of England. When St. Bede was seven, his parents, following the custom of the day, presented him as child oblate to be educated at the monastery of Wearmouth. This would be his first exposure to Benedictine teachings. This first exposure to Benedictine teachings may well have influenced Bede to consider the monastic life as a vocation.
The Rule was beginning to be widely adopted on European mainland in the time after St. Benedict’s death in 547. Many of the teachings in Benedict’s Rule were beginning to be carried to other parts of the world, including England. At this time the process of how to become a monk was not as strictly tied to the Benedictine tradition.
Rather, monasteries like Wearmouth (and its sister monastery Jarrow) simply adhered to The Rule of St. Benedict, with a dedication to monks’ prayer and work that may look very similar to our present-day monastic life.
By 682, St. Bede moved to the newly-founded monastery at Jarrow, where he would remain for the rest of his life. He became deeply devoted to the monastic way of life and was known for both his humility, as well as his passion for learning, writing, and teaching. At 19, he was ordained a deacon. And at 30, he entered the priesthood.
Jarrow was perhaps the perfect environment for St. Bede’s scholarship to blossom. It had one of the richest libraries in England, thanks in large part to the travels of the Wearmouth Abbot, St. Benedict Biscop. Roman influence was spreading throughout Europe and into England, and Biscop was partial to being informed in the teachings and traditions that came from Rome. During his many trips to Rome, Benedict brought back books, works of art, and even teachers who would educate monks on the Roman observances.
St. Bede used the marvelous library to become a prolific writer, with works spanning theology, history, science, and linguistics. Bede seems to have known some Greek and a little Hebrew. His strength was in the use of Latin which helped him to build upon some of the works of the great Latin Fathers. His writings are noted for combining both his deep spirituality as well his intellectual curiosity. That included biblical commentaries and exegesis as well as treatises on natural science. De Temporibus, a study of time and calendars, was important for determining the date of Easter, for example, as well introducing the use of Anno Domini (A.D.) to refer to the years after birth of Jesus.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Bede’s writings were used as sources in biblical commentaries and homilies. It was St. Bede’s foundational text on early Christianity, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, that earned him the title “Father of English History.” The text became a crucial source of early English history, and St. Bede was noted for his rich and responsible research as well as his care in distinguishing fact from legend and hearsay. By choosing to write in Latin, the work was readily accessible to the broader European monastic community.
St. Bede’s scholarship and education had a more immediate effect at Jarrow. He taught younger monks, fostering a tradition of mentorship and education that continued well after his death.
The spread of Saint Bede
After St. Bede’s death in 735, the dissemination of his works across Europe led to widespread veneration for the monk. Early dedications included shrines and chapels within monasteries. As English devotion to local saints increased over the following centuries, some monastic communities began to adopt his name to celebrate his spiritual and scholarly legacy.
This all changed following the Danish invasions and the 16th century dissolution of monasteries under King Henry VIII. It wasn’t until the 19th century Catholic revival in England that devotion to figures like St. Bede saw a resurgence.
Bede had been venerated as a saint since the ninth century. And in 1899, Pope Leo XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church.
Largely because of St. Bede’s contributions, Jarrow became synonymous with learning and devotion. The site of the original monastery is now home to St. Paul’s Church and Monastic Site, which includes the ruins of Jarrow as well as a museum.
Saint Bede’s legacy today
We continue to celebrate the Feast of St. Bede on May 25. Along with St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, St. Bede is among the saints chosen by Benedictine institutions as a patron saint. And that, of course, includes St. Bede Abbey, our monastery here in Peru, Illinois.
The question “how do I become a monk” comes with many practical steps and a defined direction. And part of joining St. Bede Abbey and monastery in Illinois involves understanding our tradition and the story of our patron. For us, it’s a call to educate others, as well as to continue our own learning with the same vigor and dedication as our patron.
If you’re ready to answer that call, we’re here to support you. Take the first step and reach out by filling out our contact form.
