Saint Scholastica, Virgin

Scholastica is known almost entirely from the Dialogues of Pope Gregory the Great. She was the sister of Benedict of Nursia, by tradition his twin, and was dedicated to God from childhood. She lived with other women near Monte Cassino, and once a year she met her brother at a house between their two communities.

Gregory tells that at their last meeting she begged Benedict to stay and talk through the night. When he refused, she bowed her head in prayer, and at once such a storm broke that he could not leave. Three days later, according to the Dialogues, Benedict saw her soul rise to heaven in the form of a dove. He had her buried in the tomb he had prepared for himself. She died about 543.