ITALY—The monks of the Monastery of Saint Benedict in Nursia, Italy, known worldwide for their beer, also distinguished themselves by their recording of a #1 classical billboard album titled, “BENEDICTA: Marian Chant from Norcia,” which was recently reissued by Sophia Music Group.
The prior of the monastery, which is being rebuilt following a devastating earthquake in 2016, is Father Benedict Nivakoff, who grew up in Fairfield County and regularly returns to visit his family and uncle Deacon Don Foust of St. Margaret Shrine.
Father Benedict lived in New Canaan and considered entering then-St. John Fisher Seminary in Stamford to discern his vocation. However, he chose to enter the Benedictines.
His community chants the Divine Office in Latin seven times during the day and once at night, in addition to offering Mass. They pray for those who have asked for their intercession, for the Church and for the world.
The monks released their album of Marian chants in 2015, and it was so popular that Sophia Music Group/De Montfort reissued it.
“The reissuing of BENEDICTA guarantees the preservation of this venerable repertoire consisting of 33 tracks of Marian chant, including the well-known “Regina Caeli” and “Ave Regina Caelorum” as well as original and previously unreleased songs,” the company said in a release.
USA TODAY said the album was evocative and consisted of “gentle tones—and many voices singing as one—creating a calming, ethereal quality that at its core is not a performance—it is prayer.”
The recording was made in their chapel at San Benedetto basilica, the birthplace of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica, which was destroyed in the earthquake.
“Recorded by 11-time Grammy Award-winning producer Christopher Alder and Grammy Award-winning engineer Jonathan Stokes, ‘BENEDICTA’ resulted in an album of stunning Gregorian chant that transports the listener to the Monks’ pre-earthquake monastery in Italy,” Sophia Music said.
Father Benedict entered the monastery in 2001 and lived there until it was destroyed by the earthquake, when the community was forced to move to a nearby abandoned Capuchin monastery. Shortly after, he was named prior of the community of some 20 monks.
His love of the monastic life is something Father shares in his talks.
“It is a small number of men who eventually become monks,” he said. “It is the vocation of someone who believes they want to do the most possible for the world, and to do the most possible for the world, they have to embrace a life that is immaterial, where the fruits of life will be more supernatural. That is monastic life, where a man tries to become a saint by dying, and so in his death, some part of the world might have life.”
The lives of the monks center on prayer and work. The motto of the order is “Ora et labora,” which St. Benedict promulgated in his Rule.
Father has been engaged in the rebuilding of the 16th century monastery overlooking the Valley of St. Scholastica. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
“The rebuilding of our monastery is both very far and very close because it touches our roots,” he said in a recent interview. “And at the moment, Europe—and the United States too—is a little bit past the precipice. The Church and the faith have become something of a relic, so supporting the monastery and this reconstruction is also an evangelical effort now that Europe is mission territory.”
