A small monastery is a priory headed by a Prior or a prioress. Individual Benedictine houses are joined with others to form a congregation. The various congregations together form a confederation at the head of which is the abbot primate, first among equals of the various abbots. A few houses belong to no congregation and are directly subject to the abbot primate. The Benedictine life is led within a community in the context of personal recollection and work, interspersed with the public recitation or singing of the Divine Office.
Public worship is performed with solemnity and beauty.
Each monastery may vary in its stress on prayer and its type of work without changing the basic orientation. The Benedictine habit is generally black, composed of tunic, belt, scapular, and hood, and a large flowing garment called the cowl for public worship. During the Middle Ages, the Benedictines were called the Black Monks. Until the end of the 11th century, the Benedictines were the only monastic order in the West. They played important roles in apostolic activity, in education, and in the arts.