Giovanni had a change of heart and forgave the man. On his way home, he stopped at the church at San Miniato to pray. Legend says that the figure of Christ on the crucifix bowed its head to him, supposedly in recognition of his act of mercy. This is the subject of the 19th century artist Burne-Jones' painting of "The Merciful Knight" (shown here).
Giovanni decided to cut his hair and start wearing a borrowed monk's habit. He joined the monastery at San Miniato, but felt he needed a more ascetic life. He spent some time with the monks at Camaldoli, but eventually founded his own monastery at Vallombrosa in 1036.
The Vallombrosian Congregation is now part of the Benedictine Confederation and has nine houses and a few dozen monks, but for it to have nine locations suggests great popularity in the past (see below). Giovanni adopted the Rule of St. Benedict, but stressed more austerity than the Rule. Poverty as strictly enforced, silence was mandatory and constant, cloistering was essential: the monks did not leave the premises even to help others. While the Rule of St. Benedict requires work, Giovanni's system required lay brothers to do any essential work, while the monks themselves spent their entire day in silence and contemplation. They wore habits originally of gray or ash-colored, but now wear the traditional Benedictine garb.
After Giovanni's death, the order spread, especially after a bull by Pope Urban II in 1090 gave the Vallombrosans papal support and protection. A bull by Pope Paschal II in 1115 mentions 12 Vallombrosan houses, and one by Pope Anastasius IV mentions 24. In Pope Innocent III's time there were more than 60 houses.
Giovanni was canonized in 1193 by Pope Celestine III.
The Benedictine Confederation has members all over the world, many founded in the 19th century. There were two other groups founded in the 13th century, the Silvestrines and the English. We will talk about the Silvestrine Congregation next.
