Ursus of Solothurn was a 3rd-century

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Christian venerated as a saint. He was associated very early with the

Theban Legion The Theban Legion (also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum) figures in Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Egypt—"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men"—who converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together in 286, a ...

and is recorded in the Roman Martyrology, with

Victor of Solothurn Saint Victor of Solothurn is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church. He was a soldier of the Theban Legion led by Saint Maurice and died in Solothurn. Legend Victor was one of the soldiers of the famous Theban legion that, under the leadership ...

on 30 September.

Legend

The ''Life of Ursus'' was written by Saint

Eucherius of Lyon Eucherius (c. 380c. 449) was a high-born and high-ranking ecclesiastic in the Christian church in Roman Gaul. He is remembered for his letters advocating extreme self-abnegation. From 439, he served as Archbishop of Lyon, and Henry Wace ranked h ...

in the 5th century; it recounts that Ursus was tortured and

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...

at Solothurn under Emperor Maximian and the governor Hyrtacus for refusing to worship idols around 286. The legend is classed by

Bollandist The Bollandist Society ( la, Societas Bollandistarum french: Société des Bollandistes) are an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century h ...

Hippolyte Delehaye Hippolyte Delehaye, S.J., (19 August 1859 – 1 April 1941) was a Belgian Jesuit who was a hagiographical scholar and an outstanding member of the Society of Bollandists. Biography Born in 1859 in Antwerp, Delehaye joined the Society of Jesus ...

among the historical romances.Mershman, Francis. "St. Ursus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912

Veneration

The first church dedicated to Ursus in Solothurn was probably built after

]'s remains were taken to

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

in the late 7th century. The

Treaty of Meerssen The Treaty of Mersen or Meerssen, concluded on 8 August 870, was a treaty to partition the realm of Lothair II, known as Lotharingia, by his uncles Louis the German of East Francia and Charles the Bald of West Francia, the two surviving sons of ...

of 870 mentions a monastery of St. Ursus in Solothurn.Widmer, Berthe. "Ursus und Victor", ''Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS)'', February 19, 2013
/ref> His

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

are displayed in churches throughout Switzerland, and his coffin was found in 1519 under the choir altar of St. Ursen. His feast day is September 30.

Iconography

Ursus is depicted as a soldier in arms, often with his head under his arm. He is depicted in the

Solothurn Madonna The ''Solothurn Madonna'' is a 1522 painting produced by Hans Holbein the Younger in Basel. It shows the Virgin Mary and Christ enthroned, flanked by Martin of Tours (shown as a bishop giving alms to a beggar) and Ursus of Solothurn (shown a ...

by Hans Holbein the Younger.

Patronage

Ursus is the patron of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

, Switzerland, where his body is located.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ursus Of Solothurn 3rd-century births Saints from Roman Egypt Roman Catholic saints 3rd-century Christian martyrs Solothurn 286 deaths