Odo of Novara (c. 1105 – 14 January 1200) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and a professed member from the

Carthusians The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

.Alban Butler, Paul Burns, ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000), 96.

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

confirmed his beatification in mid-1859.

Life

He was born in

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

around 1105 and was appointed as the prior of Geirach Charterhouse in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

in 1189. But he experienced difficulties with Dietrich - the local bishop - who persecuted him. Odo went to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1190 to request

Pope Clement III Pope Clement III ( la, Clemens III; 1130 – 20 March 1191), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 December 1187 to his death in 1191. He ended the conflict between the Papacy and the city of Rome, by all ...

to relieve him of his office. He became a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

after his resignation at a convent in

Tagliacozzo Tagliacozzo (Marsicano: ') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, central Italy. History Tagliacozzo lies in an area inhabited in early historic times by the Aequi and the Marsi, although the first mentions of the town ...

. Odo died there in 1200 aged 95.

Beatification

A process of investigation into his manner of life was initiated at the request of

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

. The Bishop of Trivento Riccardo described Odo as a "God-fearing man, modest and chaste, given up day and night to watching and prayer, clad only in rough garments of wool, living in a tiny cell ... obeying always the sound of the bell when it called him to office".

References

External links

Saints SQPN
1100s births 1200 deaths 12th-century venerated Christians 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Beatifications by Pope Pius IX Carthusian saints Italian beatified people People from the Province of Novara {{Italy-RC-clergy-stub