Saint Scholastica was born around 480 in Italy. Her parents were wealthy. She dedicated her life to God from the time she was very young. Her father depended on her after Scholastica’s mother had died, and didn’t want her to go, but he could not refuse God his child. She is the twin sister of Saint Benedict, who formed the Benedictine order. They grew up together until he left home to continue his studies. He created a monastery near Monte Cassino. She created the first Benedictine convent for nuns about five miles from his monastery. They visited each other once a year. She was not allowed in his monastery, so they met at a home between the two monasteries. They spent their visits praying and discussing spiritual matters.
At one of these meetings, St. Scholastica begged her brother to stay until the next day. St. Benedict refused to break his own rule that he not spend the night outside of his monastery. She prayed and a major thunderstorm came. It was storming so hard no one could return home. Benedict asked, “What have you done?”
She answered. “I asked and you would not listen, so I asked my God and He did listen.”
So they spent the rest of the night praying, discussion the faith, and the power of prayer. The next day, both left. Three days later Saint Scholastica died. In a vision, Saint Benedict saw her soul, in the form of a shining white dove go to heaven. She died in 543. Benedict had her buried in the tomb he had prepared for himself. She is the patron saint of nuns and against thunderstorms.