Twins often like to do the same things. That is how Scholastica and Benedict were. They both liked to pray. They both liked to help people praise and serve God.

The twins were born in Nursia, Italy, a long time ago. As children, they studied together. They prayed and worked together.

Then the twins grew up. People saw that Benedict and Scholastica loved God in a special way. So men gathered around Benedict. They built a large house, called a monastery, at Monte Cassino.

Five miles away, at Plombariola, Scholastica did the same. She and a group of women built a convent. There they praised God. They met seven times a day for prayer.

Benedict came to visit Scholastica in her convent. When she died, he buried her close to his monastery. A few years later, he died too. The monks buried him next to Scholastica. They had been close in life. Now they were close in death. And always they stayed close to God.