St. Scholastica, the twin sister of St. Benedict, was born into a wealthy Italian family around the year 480. Until Benedict left for Rome to continue his studies, he and his sister were inseparable. Other than her relationship with her brother, little is known about the early life of St. Scholastica. A little time before her brother founded the monastery of Monte Cassino, Scholastica founded a monastery dedicated to consecrated religious and their living in community. Once Benedict founded his great monastery, Scholastica moved her monastery to Plombariola, which was close to Monte Cassino.
Though Scholastica was abbess of the monastery, Benedict aided her in her rule by encouraging her and through many conversations about community living and practices of piety. These conversations would happen once a year at a farm between both monasteries so neither Benedict or Scholastica would break the rule of the other by entering the other's monastery. On the last of these yearly visits, Scholastica realized that she had very little time left to live and she begged her brother to stay with her through the night talking. Benedict declined because he felt he should be the last to break the rule he used for the governance of the monastery, which forbade this to happen. Scholastica was extremely dismayed by this and prayed to God for intercession on her behalf. As her prayer ended, a sever thunderstorm rolled in and prevented Benedict from leaving. The two spent the whole night in conversation, and the next morning, Scholastica died. Scholastica was buried in Monte Cassino, in the grave dug for her brother, and is the patron of Benedictine nunneries, and is invoked against severe storms. Her life is reported in "The Dialogues" of St. Gregory the Great.
Scholastica, the sister of Saint Benedict, had been consecrated to God from her earliest years. She was accustomed to visiting her brother once a year. He would come down to meet her at a place on the monastery property, not far outside the gate.
One day she came as usual and her saintly brother went with some of his disciples; they spent the whole day praising God and talking of sacred things. As night fell they had supper together.
Their spiritual conversation went on and the hour grew late. The holy nun said to her brother, "Please do not leave me tonight; let us go on until morning talking about the delights of the spiritual life."
"Sister," he replied, "What are you saying? I simply cannot stay outside my cell."
When she heard her brother refuse her request, the holy woman joined her hands on the table, laid her head on them and began to pray. As she raised her head from the table, there were such brilliant flashes of lightening, such great peals of thunder and such a heavy downpour of rain that neither Benedict nor his brethren could stir across the threshold of the place where they had been seated. Sadly, he began to complain.
"May God forgive you, sister. What have you done?"
"Well, she answered, "I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen. So now go off, if you can, leave me and return to your monastery."
So it came about that they stayed awake the whole night, engrossed in their conversation about the spiritual life.
Three days later, Benedict was in his cell. Looking up to the sky, he saw his sister's soul leave her body in the form of a dove, and fly up to the secret places of heaven. Rejoicing in her great glory, he thanked almighty God with hymns and words of praise. He then sent his brethren to bring her body to the monastery and lay it in the tomb he had prepared for himself.
from Dialogues by Pope Saint Gregory the Great
Order of Saint Benedict, by Saint Gregory the Great