Description of the Jubilee Medal

The Jubilee Medal of St. Benedict shows on the one side, the holy Patriarch holding the cross in one hand, and the Holy Rule in the other.  To the left of the Saint is the poisoned cup that he shattered by means of the sign of the cross.  To the right we see a raven about to carry away a poisoned loaf of bread that had been maliciously sent to the holy Patriarch.  Over the cup and the raven is the inscription Crux S. Patris Benedicti (The cross of holy Father Benedict).  At the edge of the same side are the words Ejus in Obitu nostro Presentia Muniamur (At our death may we be protected by his presence).  Below one reads Ex S. Monte Casino, MDCCCLXXX (Abbey of Monte Cassino, 1880).

Above the cross is the word Pax (Peace), the motto of the Benedictine Order, to indicate a blessing the Medal brings upon the devout wearer.

On the back of the Jubilee Medal of St. Benedict there is a cross with letters on and around it.  These letters are in fact ejaculatory prayers which possibly were frequently on the lips of St. Benedict himself.  The letters in the angles of the cross, C.S.P.B., stand for the words Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti (The Cross of Holy Father Benedict).  On the vertical bar of the cross are the letters C.S.S.M.L.  The signify Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux (May the Holy Cross be my Light).  On the horizontal bar we find N.D.S.M.D. meaning Non Draco Sit Mihi Dux (Let not the Dragon be my guide).  On the margin you see V.R.S.N.S.M.V.S.M.Q.L.I.V.B.  The are the initials for Vade Retro Satana! Nunquam Suade Mihi Vana. Sunt Mala Quae Libas; Ipse Venena Bibas (Get behind me, Satan! Suggest not to me your vain things. The cup you proffer is evil, Drink your own poison.) Probably Benedict used these or similar words while making the sign of the cross against the devil and his temptations.

Origin and History

St. Benedict, blessed by God both in grace and in name, Patriarch of Western Monasticism, and founder of the Order which bears his name, was born in Nursia, Italy, in 480 and died in 547.  As the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ was a chief object of devotion among the first Christians, so it was with Benedict.  It was this devotion to the Cross, the sign of our redemption, that gave rise to the medal of St. Benedict, for devotion to the Medal of St. Benedict is above all else devotion to the sign of our salvation.  The Saint often employed the sign of the Cross to work miracles and to overcome the devil and his temptations.  Thus from the earliest centuries after his death Benedict is represented bearing the Cross of Christ together with the Holy Rule.

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