21. Saint Maurus walks on water

You are looking at one of the most remarkable episodes from the life of Saint Benedict.

The saint founded his first monastery at Subiaco, beside a lake. And it is precisely where the miracle depicted in this painting took place..

There are three main figures. You will easily recognise Saint Benedict, as he is the only one with a halo. Beside him stand two monks: Maurus and the young Placid.

The story begins with an ordinary everyday task. Placid goes down to the lake to fetch water with a metal pitcher. But he becomes distracted, slips… and falls into the water. The current carries him out into the lake.

Saint Benedict notices immediately and tells Maurus to run and save him.

Now take a closer look at the composition of the painting. The artist is not depicting a single moment, but three different scenes brought together within the same image.

In the upper right-hand corner, Saint Benedict points towards the place where Placid is drowning. Beside him, Maurus accepts the task and immediately rushes to his rescue.

According to the story, Maurus runs forward… and, without even realising it, begins to walk across the water.

Now look towards the lower left-hand corner of the painting, where we find the climax of the story. Maurus reaches Placid, who is already sinking beneath the surface, and pulls him from the water by his hair. If you look carefully, you will notice that the young Placid is not looking at his rescuer’s face, but at the black habit he is wearing.

After the rescue, the story turns to a scene of humility. In the upper left-hand corner, in front of a house, Saint Benedict and Maurus are debating who truly performed the miracle. Benedict insists that the credit belongs to Maurus, because he was the one who walked on the water. Maurus, however, says that the miracle belongs to Benedict, since he did nothing more than obey his instruction.

At that moment, Placid — the small figure standing to the left — settles the debate with an unexpected remark: “When I was being pulled from the water, the habit I saw was not Maurus’s… it was Saint Benedict’s.”

For Benedictine monks, this episode has always been understood as an invitation to turn away from pride and to live with humility.

To discover more fascinating episodes from the life of Saint Benedict, enter the number of the painting that most catches your attention… and continue your journey.