The Diocese of Phoenix celebrated the feast day of St. Benedict on Monday, remembering him for his role in developing monasteries.

"Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Benedict of Nursia,” the diocese posted on Facebook. "Ora pro nobis!”

St. Benedict of Nursia was born around the year 480 in Italy, Britannica said. His parents sent him to study in Rome, but city life didn’t appeal to Benedict, who was bothered by the Roman people's lack of moral restraint. He left Rome and found a cave that he used for shelter, where he lived a spartan life in isolation for three years. 

Benedict became famous for his sanctity, and monks persuaded him to become the abbott of a nearby monastery, Britannica said. But there, he was a victim of an attempted poisoning by someone who apparently didn’t like him as much as some of the other monks did. He returned to his cave, but some of his followers kept returning to him.  

Benedict created a list of instructions for religious life, Catholic.org said. That list later became known as the Rule of St. Benedict, and it is still used centuries later to guide religious life. He went on to establish 12 monasteries that used the Rule of St. Benedict as a guiding principle. The Rule describes the power of rhetoric in spreading the Gospel and emphasizes the importance of reading and meditating on sacred Scripture.

Benedict died soon after his twin sister, St. Scholastica, passed. In artwork, he is sometimes depicted with a raven or a bell. 

Benedict is the patron saint of Europe, schoolchildren, monastics and poisoning, Franciscan Media said. His feast day is celebrated each year on July 11.