This medal originally came from a cross in honor of St Benedict. On
one side, the medal has an image of St Benedict, holding the Holy Rule
in his left hand and a cross in his right. There is a raven on one side
of him, with a cup on the other side of him. Around the medal's outer
margin are the words
"Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur" ("May we, at our death, be fortified by His presence"). The other side of the medal has a cross with the initials
CSSML on the vertical bar which signify
"Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux" ("May the Holy Cross be my light") and on the horizontal bar are the initials
NDSMD which stand for
"Non Draco Sit Mihi Dux" ("Let not the dragon be my overlord"). The initials
CSPB stand for
"Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti" ("The Cross of the Holy Father Benedict") and are located on the interior angles of the cross. Either the inscription
"PAX" (Peace) or the
Christogram "IHS" may be found at the top of the cross in most cases. Around the medal's margin on this side are the
Vade Retro Satana initials
VRSNSMV which stand for
"Vade Retro Satana, Nonquam Suade Mihi Vana" ("Begone Satan, do not suggest to me thy vanities") then a space followed by the initials
SMQLIVB which signify
"Sunt Mala Quae Libas, Ipse Venena Bibas" ("Evil are the things thou profferest, drink thou thy own poison").
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This medal was first struck in 1880 to commemorate the fourteenth
centenary of St Benedict's birth and is also called the Jubilee Medal;
its exact origin, however, is unknown. In 1647, during a witchcraft
trial at
Natternberg near
Metten Abbey in
Bavaria,
the accused women testified they had no power over Metten, which was
under the protection of the cross. An investigation found a number of
painted crosses on the walls of the abbey with the letters now found on
St Benedict medals, but their meaning had been forgotten. A manuscript
written in 1415 was eventually found that had a picture of Saint
Benedict holding a scroll in one hand and a staff which ended in a cross
in the other. On the scroll and staff were written the full words of
the initials contained on the crosses. Medals then began to be struck in
Germany, which then spread throughout Europe. This medal was first
approved by
Pope Benedict XIV in his briefs of December 23, 1741, and March 12, 1742.
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