The sixth-century founder of Monte Cassino and the author of the Rule that shaped Western monasticism. The medal and the medal's exorcism are later devotional developments attached to his name.
Modern Practice
The Benedict medal is the folk-magic form: a blessed medal inscribed with the cross and the letters that stand for the exorcism formula. The corpus records the devotion and notes that the medal is a sacramental, not an amulet in the strict sense.