History
The exact time and date of the making of the first Saint Benedict Medal are not clear, however, it is likely that may have initially had the form of a cross. Catholic tradition holds that as a young Benedictine, the future Pope Leo IX attributed his recovery from a snake bite to that cross. After becoming pope in 1049, Leo IX enriched the St. Benedict cross to the form of a medal, and gave it blessings and indulgences.
Saint Vincent de Paul, who died in 1660, appears to have been acquainted with the Medal and the Sisters of Charity founded by him have worn it attached to their rosary beads.
The medal was formally approved by Pope Benedict XIV in 1741. The Jubilee medal was struck in 1880, in remembrance of the 1400th anniversary of St. Benedict’s birth. The initials of the Vade retro satana formula have been found on Saint Benedict Medals at least since 1780. The letters found on the back of the medal, had remained a mystery until they were related to a manuscript dating back to 1415 was found at Metten Abbey in Bavaria in 1647. The manuscript contains the first recorded use of the exorcism formula Vade retro satana ("Step back, Satan"), and the letters were found to correspond to this phrase.
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