Under the motto, "What we have received, we pass on to you: our past and future in the now of Benedictine education", the 9th world conference of the Benedictine Educators' Network (BENET) took place in Rio de Janeiro from the 11th to the 15th of October, 2023. Taking place at Sao Bento Monastery and School, the 139 participants from 18 countries had the opportunity to meet again since the last conference in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic. Until then, BENET conferences had taken place every three years since the first one in 1999.

BENET 2023 revolved around several keynote speakers in the morning followed by workshops led by different schools in the afternoons. Participants were divided into communities who met every morning for Lectio Divina and also prayed the Liturgy of the Hours with the monks of the Sao Bento community. Notable contributions came from Abbot Fernando Rivas OSB from Luján Abbey in Argentina who gave a talk entitled The Christian and Benedictine Paideia. A panel of 4 ex-students from Benedictine schools in 4 different continents led by Patricia Flynn (Theatre Director at St Benedicts's Prep School, Newark) shared their experiences of Benedictine education in powerful testimonies that set the tone for conversations during the conference.

For a full summary of BENET 2023 please take a look at the following report here.