As Benedict’s holiness of life became more and more know, men gathered around him to imitate his was of life and dedicate themselves to God. At Subiaco, Benedict would eventually establish twelve monasteries, with an abbot and twelve monks in each, with himself overseeing them all.
It was at Subiaco that two pious noblemen brought him their sons to be schooled in the service of God. The names of the boys were Maurus and Placid. It is related that once while Benedict was in his cell, he was instantly aware that young Placid, who had gone to get water at the lake, had fallen in and was carried by the current out about a stone’s throw. He called quickly to Maurus who ran out to carry out Benedict’s command. When he reached the water’s edge he did not stop running, but continued to run over the surface of the water just as if it were dry ground until he reached Placid and grasping him by the hair, rushed back with him to shore. It was only when he was once again on dry land that he realized he had run over the surface of the water.
As St. Gregory relates, “Overcome with fear and amazement at a deed he (Maurus) would never have thought possible, he returned to his abbot and told him what had taken place. The holy man would not take any personal credit for the deed but attributed it to the obedience of his disciple. Maurus on the contrary claimed that it was due entirely to his abbot’s command… While they were carrying on this friendly contest of humility, the question was settled by the boy who had been rescued. ‘When I was being drawn out of the water,’ he told them, ‘I saw the abbot’s cloak over my head; he is the one I thought was bringing me to shore.’” (Life and Miracles of St. Benedict, pages 21-22.)
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