Benedict of Szkalka


Benedict of Szkalka or Skalka, born Stojislav in Nitra, Hungarian Kingdom, was a Benedictine monk, now venerated as a saint. He became a hermit and lived an austere life in a cave along the Vah River. Benedict was strangled to death in 1012 by a gang of robbers looking for treasure. He is venerated in Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and the United States.

Life

Benedict became a monk at the St. Hippolytus Monastery on Mount Zobor near Nyitra in the late 10th or early 11th century. He later became a hermit with his fellow saint and spiritual teacher Andrew Zorard. They lived an austere life in a cave along the Vah River near Trenčín in modern Skalka nad Váhom - then part of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Andrew died in 1009, but Benedict continued to live in the cave for three years until he was strangled to death in 1012 by a gang of robbers looking for treasure. The thieves dumped his body in the Vah River, but his body was found perfectly preserved a year later. In 1083 his relics were translated to the St. Emmeram's Cathedral in Nitra where they remain to this day. A biography of St. Benedict and St. Andrew was written by St. Maurus, Bishop of Pécs.
He was renowned for his piety and strict asceticism.

Feast Day and Veneration

St. Benedict is venerated especially in Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland, but also in the United States. His feast day is 1 May, but in some calendars he is venerated together with St. Andrew on 13 June or 17 July.