They spoke of hermit monks...

"That which one could call the spirituality of the desert (...) is a profound movement of the Spirit which will never cease as long as there are voices to listen to the voice of the Spirit. It is not fear nor the desire to repent nor simply prudence which populates the solitude of the monasteries. It is the love of God. That there be, in the middle of the big modern cities, in the richer countries, just like on the plains of the Ganges or the forests of Africa, souls capable to be content, all their lives, with adoration and praise, who consecrate themselves freely as the guarantors of humanity before the Creator, protectors and advocates of their brothers and sisters before the Father of the Heavens, what a victory for the Almighty, what glory for the Saviour! Monasticism is nothing else, in its essence." 

(Pius XII, Speech to the International Congress of Studies on Monasticism, April 1958)