Benedict's beginning as a monastic leader was a bitter experience. At the monk's invitation he became the abbot of a nearby monastery. The monks found life under his rule most difficult, so they decided to poison him. During a meal he was presented with a cup of wine over which he made the sign of of the cross; at that moment the cup broke. Realizing what had transpired, he left and returned to his cave.

In spite of this, men were attracted by his holiness and miracles he worked. They came to him desiring to live as he did. In the prologue of his rule, written probably at Monte Cassino, we read:

isten carefully, my son, to the master's instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is the advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice. The labor of obedience will bring you back to him from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience. This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord.

Benedict established 12 monasteries in the Aniene Valley, with 12 men in each supervised by a superior and Benedict became the spiritual father of them all. From the beginning, the monastic life he directed consisted of work, prayer, study and rest. Today, there is only one surviving Benedictine monastery at Subiaco and it was built around the cave where Benedict had lived for three years.

Why did Benedict leave Subiaco?

Pope Gregory I who wrote the in the Second Book of Dialogues tells us that a priest named Florentius became jealous of the monastic success of Benedict. One day he sent Benedict a poisoned loaf of bread as a gift. A craw used to come at dinner time to be fed by Bendict, so Benedict being aware that it was poisoned told the craw, "In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, take up the loaf and leave it some place where no man may find it". At first the craw was hesitant, but when Benedict repeated the order, the craw took it and flew away. Later it returned for its usual meal. Florentius, now aware that he could not kill Benedict, decided to corrupt the souls of his monks. He sent seven naked women to dance around the monastery. So Benedict with a group of monks decided to leave Subiaco. He was only about 10 miles from the town when word reached him that the chamber of the house where Florentius lived had fallen down and killed him. Benedict became sorrowful not only because Florentine had died such a death but also because the monk who sent him the message rejoiced at his death, therefore he gave the monk a penance.

This is the view of Monte Cassino today courtesy of Leonard Frank.

Benedict arrived at Monte Cassino in 529 AD and found that the simple foolish people worshiped the god Apollo who temple stood on top of the mountain. The people also worshipped the devil in the surrounding woods. Benedict broke the idol to pieces, overthrew the altar and burned the woods. By his holiness of life and continual preaching he converted the people of the town

.Life of the Monk