Reconstruction took more than a decade and was financed by the Italian government, and it was rededicated by Pope Paul VI in 1964. A small number of monks continue to reside in the abbey, and a museum and the abbey itself are open to tourists and pilgrims.
Founded by Saint Benedict in the 6th century, the Abbazia di Montecassino is one of Europe's oldest monasteries and is still a working monastery and pilgrimage site today. The remains of Saint Benedict and his twin sister Saint Scholastica are kept in a bronze urn under the basilica's high altar.
