St. Scholastica was the sister of St. Benedict, and she too is mentioned in the Diologues of Pope St. Gregory the Great. She also consecrated her life to God at an early age. She became the abbess of a monastery of nuns a few miles from that of St. Benedict. She and her brother visited each other once a year. Since she was not allowed to enter his monastery, they met at a house some distance away, where they spent their time together praying and speaking of God and of spiritual topics. As St. Gregory describes it, on one occasion St. Benedict was preparing to leave as evening drew near, but his sister begged him to stay. He, however, was horrified at the thought of not returning to his monastery, and refused. And so she bowed her head in tears and earnest prayer to the Lord. Immediately a terrific thunderstorm broke out, and St. Benedict was forced to remain. As St. Gregory relates, "And so it happened that they passed the whole night in vigil and each fully satisfied the other with holy talk on the spiritual life." The Pope goes on to say, "Nor is it any surprise that the woman who wished to see her brother for a longer time was on this occasion stronger than he, for according to the words of John, 'God is love,' and by an altogether fair judgment, she was able to do more because she loved more."

The next morning Benedict returned to his monastery. Three days later, as he was at prayer, "he saw the soul of his sister leaving her body and penetrating the secret places of heaven under the form of a dove." He had her body brought to his monastery and placed in the tomb he had already prepared for himself.

As a recent commentator on the Rule of St. Benedict and on the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great has said, "The tears of Scholastica in prayer make us think of those which the sinner poured out on the feet of the Master…if Benedict, like Paul, was powerless, it was because Scholastica, like the sinner, loved more."
St. Scholastica did about the year 543. Her feast day is celebrated on February 10.

Prayer to St. Scholastica

O God, to show us where innocence leads, you made the soul of your virgin Saint Scholastica soar to heaven like a dove in flight. Grant through her merits and her prayers that we may so live in innocence as to attain to joys everlasting. We ask this through Christ our Lord.