Catholic World News News Feature

Monks may live longer March 15, 2007

Monks may live longer than other men, according to a German study.

The Benedictine publication Missionblatter has published the findings of a demographic survey by Marc Luy of Rostock, Germany, who analyzed the age of monks in different monasteries and found that on average, monks live 4 years longer than other men.

Professor Luy admitted that he still does not know why monks live longer. His hypothesis is that monks smoke less, have a regular daily routine, and do not cease working at age 65. He also believes that monks’ spiritual lives help them to deal with daily stress.

The reserarcher also found that there is no difference between the average life span of monks and consecrated women.