Benedict of Aniane, called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer, who left a large imprint on the religious practice of the Carolingian Empire. He was the son of a Visigoth, Aigulf, Count of Maguelonne. Originally given the Gothic name Witiza, he was educated at the Frankish court of Pippin the Younger and entered the royal service as a page.

As he grew older, Benedict left the court and was received into the monastery of Saint Sequanus, the Abbey of Saint-Seine, where he was made cellarer, and then elected as abbot. However, realizing that the monks would never conform to his strict practices he left the monastery and returned to his father's estates in Languedoc, where he built a hermitage, and around 780, founded a monastic community. As the community did not develop as he had intended, he founded another monastery in 782 based on Benedictine Rule, at the same location.

In 814, emperor Louis had Benedict found a monastery on the river Inde near the court at Aachen. The monastery was at first called the "Monastery of the Redeemer on the Inde" but came to be known as Kornelimünster Abbey.

Benedict died at Kornelimünster Abbey on February 11, 821, in the monastery Louis had built for him.

Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Anthony Kauleas
2. Saint Damian
3. Saint Febronia
4. Saint Humbeline
5. Saint Julian

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