St. Benedict Medal Necklaces | Exorcism Medal for Protection – Rosarycard.net

Who Was St. Benedict of Nursia?

St. Benedict was born around 480 A.D. in Nursia (modern-day Norcia), a small town in central Italy, during the chaotic decades following the fall of the Roman Empire. His family was prosperous enough to send him to Rome for his education, but the young Benedict was so disgusted by the moral corruption he witnessed in the city that he abandoned his studies and withdrew to a cave at Subiaco, about forty miles east of Rome, where he lived as a hermit for three years.

Word of his holiness spread. A community of monks at a nearby monastery invited Benedict to become their abbot. He accepted — and the monks immediately regretted it. Benedict's discipline was strict, his standards were high, and the monks were not interested in reform. According to tradition, they tried to poison him twice. In the first attempt, they put poison in his wine. Benedict made the sign of the cross over the cup, and it shattered in his hands. In the second attempt, they poisoned a loaf of bread, but a raven swooped down and carried the bread away before Benedict could eat it. These two miracles — the shattered cup and the raven — are depicted on every St. Benedict medal.

Benedict left those monks and eventually founded his own monastery at Monte Cassino, on a hilltop between Rome and Naples. It would become the most important monastery in the history of Western Christianity. There he wrote his Rule — the "Rule of St. Benedict" — a guide for monastic life that emphasized prayer, work, obedience, stability, and community. The Rule was so practical, so balanced, and so deeply rooted in Scripture that it became the foundational document for virtually all Western monasticism. Benedictine monks, following this Rule, went on to preserve classical learning through the Dark Ages, build the great abbeys and universities of medieval Europe, and produce more than 57,000 recognized saints and 35 popes.

Benedict died at Monte Cassino around 547 A.D. He is honored as the patron saint of Europe, students, and those suffering from kidney disease, and his feast day is celebrated on July 11.

The History of the St. Benedict Medal

The exact origin of the St. Benedict medal is not known, but devotion to a medal or cross bearing Benedict's image and symbols dates back to at least the early Middle Ages. The earliest known form was a simple cross — the "Cross of St. Benedict" — inscribed with mysterious Latin initials that no one could fully explain.

In 1647, a breakthrough occurred. At the Benedictine Abbey of Metten in Bavaria, Germany, researchers discovered a manuscript dating to 1415 that contained a painting of St. Benedict holding a staff ending in a cross, alongside a scroll. Written on the staff and scroll were the full Latin words that the mysterious initials had abbreviated for centuries — revealing them to be a prayer of exorcism against Satan. The discovery electrified the Catholic world and led to a surge in devotion to the medal.

The medal as we know it today — the "Jubilee Medal" — was designed in 1880 under the supervision of the monks of Monte Cassino to commemorate the 1400th anniversary of St. Benedict's birth. The design was produced at Saint Martin's Archabbey in Beuron, Germany, and it has remained unchanged since. This is the standard St. Benedict medal used throughout the world today.

Pope Benedict XIV formally approved and recommended the medal to the faithful in 1742, and it has been associated with numerous indulgences and blessings ever since. It is one of the few sacramentals that has its own special blessing in the Roman Ritual — a distinction it shares with almost no other medal.

The Front of the Medal — Explained

The front of the St. Benedict medal features the image of St. Benedict standing in the center. In his right hand he holds a cross — the instrument through which he worked miracles and defeated the attacks of the devil throughout his life. In his left hand he holds his Rule for Monasteries, the document that guided generations of monks toward holiness.

To his right (the viewer's left) is a cup, shown broken or with a serpent emerging from it. This represents the poisoned wine that shattered when Benedict made the sign of the cross over it. To his left (the viewer's right) is a raven, representing the bird that carried away the poisoned bread. Together, these symbols recall that Benedict's life was marked by direct confrontation with evil — and that evil lost every time.

Surrounding the image of Benedict are the Latin words: "Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur" — "May we be strengthened by his presence in the hour of our death." This inscription highlights Benedict's patronage of a happy death and the belief that his intercession is especially powerful at life's most vulnerable moment.

At the top of the medal is the word "PAX" — peace — which has been the motto of the Benedictine Order for centuries.

The Back of the Medal — The Exorcism Prayer

The reverse of the St. Benedict medal is where the spiritual warfare symbolism is concentrated. A large cross dominates the center. On the four sides of the cross are the initials C.S.P.B. — "Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti" — "The Cross of our Holy Father Benedict."

Running along the vertical beam of the cross: C.S.S.M.L. — "Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux" — "May the Holy Cross be my light." Running along the horizontal beam: N.D.S.M.D. — "Non Draco Sit Mihi Dux" — "May the dragon never be my guide." Together, these two phrases form a declaration of allegiance to Christ and a rejection of the devil.

Around the outer margin of the medal, beginning at the top right and reading clockwise, are the initials of the full exorcism prayer:

V.R.S. — "Vade Retro Satana" — "Begone, Satan!"
N.S.M.V. — "Nunquam Suade Mihi Vana" — "Never tempt me with your vanities!"
S.M.Q.L. — "Sunt Mala Quae Libas" — "What you offer is evil."
I.V.B. — "Ipse Venena Bibas" — "Drink your own poison!"

This is the exorcism formula that gives the St. Benedict medal its nickname: the "devil-chasing medal." It is a direct command to Satan to depart, a refusal of his temptations, and a prayer of protection spoken through the authority of the Church and the intercession of St. Benedict. Catholics who wear this medal carry this prayer with them at all times.

How Is the St. Benedict Medal Used?

The St. Benedict medal is used in more ways than almost any other Catholic sacramental. It is worn as a necklace for personal protection. It is attached to rosaries — as St. Vincent de Paul recommended to his Sisters of Charity centuries ago. It is placed in the foundations of buildings, on the walls of homes, above doorways, and in cars. It is buried in fields and gardens. It is given to the sick. It is used by exorcists during the Rite of Exorcism as a sacramental aid. It is carried in wallets and pockets.

There is no prescribed way to use the medal. The Church teaches that its power comes not from the medal itself but from the faith and devotion of the person using it, combined with the prayers of the Church and the intercession of St. Benedict. The medal is a visible sign of an invisible reality: that Christ has power over evil, that the cross is our light, and that the saints intercede for us in our daily battles against temptation and spiritual attack.

The Special Blessing of the St. Benedict Medal

The St. Benedict medal has its own special blessing in the Roman Ritual — a distinction almost unique among Catholic medals. The blessing, which can be given by any priest or deacon (not just a Benedictine), includes a formal exorcism of the medal itself: "I cast out the demon from you, creature medals, by God the Father almighty, who made the heavens and the earth and the seas and all that they contain." The prayer then asks God to pour out His blessings on the medal and on all who use it devoutly, granting them health of soul and body and protection from the attacks of the evil one.

This is why having a St. Benedict medal blessed is especially important. While all sacramentals benefit from a priestly blessing, the St. Benedict medal's blessing is uniquely powerful — it is, in effect, an exorcism prayer applied directly to the object you will carry or wear.