This edition of The Rule of Saint Benedict is being published in conjunction with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of The Liturgical Press. The Liturgical Press began in the 1930s to publish books and other materials related to Benedictine monastic life and spirituality. Leonard Doyle's translation of St. Benedict's Rule for Monasteries appeared in 1948 and has remained in print ever since.
Generations of monastics, oblates and others whose lives are influenced by monastic spirituality, have encountered the Rule by means of Doyle's work, which remains by far the most widely known and used English version of the Rule. The traditional dates for the thrice-yearly reading of the Rule are included in this edition.
Simple, clear text and beautiful cover art enhance the value of this edition. The elegance of the page, as crafted by the master eye of renowned liturgical artist and designer Frank Kacmarcik, OblSB, makes it a treasure to read and study as Benedict intended. With ribbon marker.
Leonard J. Doyle (1914-1970) was a gifted translator of German, French, Latin, and Italian works for The Liturgical Press, in addition to operating his own publishing company, Doyle and Finegan. His translations include such titles as Parish Holy Week Missal (1956), The Simplification of the Rubrics(1955), Commentary for Benedictine Oblates (1950), Benedictinism Through Changing Centuries (1958), A History of Benedictine Nuns (1958), among others. After Vatican II he worked on the official liturgical books published by The Liturgical Press, including the Lectionary, the Sacramentary, and the Breviary. His translation from Latin of St. Benedict's Rule for Monasteries, which was published in 1948, is still sold by The Liturgical Press.
David W. Cotter, OSB, is a monk of St. John's Abbey and an editor at The Liturgical Press. He is series editor of Berit Olam (The Everlasting Covenant) Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry.
