Research examining traces of parasites in medieval Cambridge residents suggests that monks were almost twice as likely as ordinary townspeople to have intestinal worms -- despite monasteries of the ...

Andrew Jotischky’s new book is a history of monastic life from early Christianity - Alamy In seventh-century Emesa, Syria, a man walked through town tugging a dead dog on the end of a rope. He ...

When we think of medieval friars, we may well picture Robin Hood’s jolly Friar Tuck, known for his rotund figure and love of food and drink. But it turns out some of these monks were full of more than ...

It is no accident that the patron saint of foreign missionaries is a cloistered nun, Pope Francis said Wednesday. Speaking in St. Peter’s Square on April 26, the pope pointed to the example of St.