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Summary
- The prayer on the Saint Benedict medal is given here in Latin and English, initial by initial. “Vade retro Satana” means “Begone, Satan,” and it echoes Jesus’ words to Peter in the Latin text of Mark 8:33.
- Benedict did not write it. The letters were found painted at Metten Abbey after a 1647 witchcraft trial, a manuscript of 1415 explained them, and Pope Benedict XIV approved them on medals in 1741 and 1742.
- The cup and the raven on the medal come from Gregory the Great’s Dialogues: a poisoned glass of wine that broke at the sign of the cross, and a poisoned loaf that a crow carried away.
- New prayers to God cover protection, temptation, evil thoughts, an enemy, grave trouble, discouragement, peace at home, discernment and the armor of God, and there is a Catholic request for Benedict’s prayers as well.
- The “Benedictus” that people search for in German and Dutch is a different prayer, the Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:68–79), quoted here from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1673) says psychological illness “is a very different matter” from demonic possession, and that it must be ruled out before an exorcism.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Matthew 5:44; Mark 8:33; Luke 1:68–79; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Ephesians 6:11; James 4:7; 1 John 4:1). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- Nova Vulgata, Evangelium secundum Marcum 8:33. Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/archive/bible/nova_vulgata/documents/nova-vulgata_nt_evang-marcum_lt.html
- Ott, Michael. “Medal of Saint Benedict.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13338a.htm
- Ford, Hugh. “St. Benedict of Nursia.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02467b.htm
- Gregory the Great. Dialogues, Book 2, chapters 3 and 8. English translation by “P.W.” (1911 edition); reedited by Roger Pearse, Tertullian Project, 2004. https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/gregory_02_dialogues_book2.htm
- St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries. Translated by Leonard J. Doyle. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1948. Chapter 4, instruments 50–51; chapter 48. Project Gutenberg eBook no. 50040. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50040
- A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity. New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1888. The Litany of the Saints, p. 258. https://archive.org/details/AManualOfPrayers1888
- The Book of Common Prayer (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Standard Book of 1928. Morning Prayer, Benedictus, p. 14. PDF facsimile: https://www.artisticdailyprayers.org/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/bcp1928std.pdf
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. Paragraphs 1670 and 1673. https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_two/section_two/chapter_four/article_1.html
- Orthodox Church in America. Lives of the Saints, March 14, “Venerable Benedict of Nursia.” https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/03/14
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. https://988lifeline.org/
- Samaritans. “Contact a Samaritan.” https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
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