Vintage St Benedict Bronze Medal

This beautiful antique medal has MDCCCLXXX below the figure of Saint Benedict indicating that it was struck in 1880 to mark the 1400th anniversary of the birth of the saint. 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.

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. The inscription "PAX" (Peace) is found at the top of the cross.

Around the medal's margin on this side are the Vade Retro Satana initials VRSNSMV which stand for "Vade Retro Satana, Nunquam 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").

It is a Christian sacramental medal containing symbols and text related to the life of Saint Benedict of Nursia, used by Roman Catholics, as well as Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and the Western Orthodox, in the Benedictine Christian tradition, especially votarists and oblates.

The medal is one of the oldest and most honored medals used by Christians and due to the belief in its power against evil is also known as the "devil-chasing medal". As early as the 11th century, it may have initially had the form of Saint Benedict's cross, and was used by pope Leo IX.

The reverse side of the medal carries the Vade retro satana ("Step back, Satan") formula which has been used by Christians to ward off evil since the 15th century. Sometimes carried as part of the rosary, it is also found individually.

In widespread use after its formal approval by pope Benedict XIV in the 18th century, the medal is used by Roman Catholics to ward off spiritual and physical dangers, especially those related to evil, poison, and temptation.

The medal measures 1 5/8" diameter