Father Julian Stead is a Benedictine monk and priest at St. Gregory's Abbey, Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He was born in Oxford, England of American parents and moved to Baltimore, Maryland in his youth. As a Benedictine, Fr. Julian has lived in Washington, D.C., Rome, Oxford and Scotland. Throughout his years in Portsmouth he has taught dogmatic theology, philosophy, and was novice master; he was also visiting lecturer in patristics at Providence College and Downside Abbey, England. He has published numerous books and articles.

Father Julian Stead shows the applicability of the Rule of Saint Benedict to the lives of individuals and of society in the 21st century. After a comprehensive introduction and some selected passages of Gregory the Great's Life of Saint Benedict, Father Julian presents excerpts of the Rule, intertwining his own commentary. For monks and nuns already following the Rule, this book can be a rediscovery of Benedict's message in the context of their own vocations. For laypeople, it sheds light on how to live their daily commitment to the gospel.

"Julian Stead brings a wealth of experience, common sense and scholarship to showing how the Rule of St. Benedict can be lived out today."

Pastoral Life

"Father Julian has done an admirable job of showing why the Rule of Saint Benedict remains a classic. For those who might hesitate to approach the Rule directly, here is an aid that will draw them directly to the font itself. Even for those who have spent years living under its guidance, there are refreshing insights."

Augustin Cardinal Mayer, OSB

"Father Julian Stead offers a profound commentary on Saint Benedict's life and Rule; it is a valuable guide to all who take seriously God's call to a deeper life."

Miriam D. Ukeritis, CJS
Director, Institute for Leadership of Religious Organizations