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TheAbbey of Saint Scholastica, also known asSubiaco Abbey (Italian:Abbazia di Santa Scolastica), is located just outside the town ofSubiaco in theProvince of Rome, Region ofLazio,Italy; and is still an activeBenedictine abbey,territorialabbey, first founded in the 6th century AD by SaintBenedict of Nursia. It was in one of the Subiaco caves (or grotto) that Benedict made his firsthermitage. The monastery today gives its name to theSubiaco Congregation, a grouping of monasteries worldwide that makes up part of theOrder of Saint Benedict.
St. Scholastica's Abbey today is part of the Subiaco Congregation, a grouping of 64 male Benedictine monasteries on five continents, to which 45 female monasteries also belong, within the largerBenedictine Confederation.[1]
In the early 6th century Benedict ofNursia, a man from a well-to-do family who was educated at Rome, retired to a grotto near an ancient Roman Villa in Subiaco, in the mountains of north Latium (Lazio). His reputation as a spiritual guide quickly drew disciples to him there, including many of his old Roman friends, who also settled in the area. Over the years, no fewer than thirteen monastic communities arose around Subiaco, including the one that would come to be named forSt. Scholastica, Benedict's sister and herself a monastic. Eventually, seeking greater solitude, Benedict would retire toMonte Cassino, where the same process would be repeated.
In the 9th century, St. Scholastica's Abbey was twice destroyed by theSaracens, in 828-829 and 876–877. But it was restored, and grew in the tenth century thanks to the patronage and favour of severalpopes, many of whom were, in fact, Benedictine monks.
As for monastic establishments throughout Europe, the 11th and 12th centuries were a golden age for the abbey, when it boasted vast lands, a large number of monks, and elaborate, ornateliturgy. With economic power came political power as well. In the thirteenth century, a sanctuary was erected over the cave where St. Benedict had dwelt, theSacro Speco or "Holy Cave".
Riches also brought covetousness, and the abbey's prestige brought it enemies. Long power struggles with the feudal establishment weakened the abbey, and decadence set in whenCalixtus III madeJuan de Torquemada (uncle of the famous inquisitor)commendatory abbot. Subsequently, powerful families tied to the papacy controlled it. Rodrigo Borgia (later the infamousAlexander VI) held the commendatory abbacy in 1467. TheColonna (1492),Borghese (1608), andBarberini (1633) families would also gain control of its revenues. Some took their ownership of the abbey seriously and tried to restore it, but most were content to exploit its revenues, sometimes without even ever visiting the monastery. The spiritual well-being of the monks was rarely a concern.
The tide began to turn in 1753, whenBenedict XIV decided to remove commendatory abbots' power over the day-to-day running of their monasteries, leaving them only the spiritual and ecclesiastical dignity. Yet at the end of the century, when the French occupied thePapal States, the abbey was suppressed.Pius VII restored it as soon as he regained his independence. In 1915,Benedict XV accorded it the privilege of aterritorial abbey.
The monastic community today is made up of nineteen monks living at two sites: most are resident at St. Scholastica's Abbey proper, while a small contingent resides at theSacro Speco (Holy Cave), the shrine at St. Benedict's hermitage.[2]
The buildings are arranged around threecloisters. The oldest (12–13th centuries) is in thecosmatesque style; the second is in theGothic style, dating to the 14th-15th centuries. The third is from the late 16th century, inRenaissance style; it was finished in 1689.
The abbey church is aGothic building with a Romanesque-stylecampanile, entirely rebuilt in 1771–1776 byGiacomo Quarenghi with aneo-classical style that stands apart from the rest of the abbey's architecture.
Located a few kilometers from the abbey proper, the ancient shrine is attached to the side of the mountain, its structure supported by nine high arcades. It can be visited in part by pilgrims and other visitors.
The interior is an extensive complex of small cells, and chapels—including one over St. Benedict's own hermitage, others hewn from theliving rock. There are extensivefrescoes dating to various periods. The lower church contains works by Roman painters of the mid-13th century, while the upper church has works from theSienese school (early 14th century) and others from the Umbrian-Marche school (15th century). There is also a large statue of St. Benedict byAntonio Raggi (1657).
Among the frescoes is a representation of SaintFrancis of Assisi, the oldest known portrait of the saint in existence, executed in his lifetime, during the period he spent in retreat at Subiaco (1223–1224). It is noteworthy that Francis is depicted without thestigmata and without ahalo.
The canonical status of "abbey nullius", or in modern terminology "territorial abbey", granted to Subiaco by PopeBenedict XV was modified by theHoly See in 2002,[3] in harmony with a recent general policy, applied also in the case of other Benedictine houses, such as theAbbey of Monte Cassino and that ofMontevergine. Since 1915, the Abbey of Subiaco had had jurisdiction, in a manner similar to any Catholic diocese, over 29 parishes in the vicinity. The 2002 measures transferred these parishes to a variety of neighbouring dioceses, leaving the abbot, as ordinary, with jurisdiction over the abbey church itself, the Sacro Speco and other Benedictine properties close by. The cathedral church of the Subiaco quasi-diocese remains the abbey church, which is at the same time the parish church solely of the parish where it stands.
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41°55′00″N13°07′07″E / 41.91667°N 13.11861°E /41.91667; 13.11861
