Othmar, (also ''Audomar'', c. 689 – c. 759) was a Medieval

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

and

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 partic ...

. He served as the first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

of the

Abbey of St. Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...

, a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

near which the town of St. Gallen, now in Switzerland, developed.

Life

Othmar was of Alemannic descent, received his education in Rhaetia, was ordained priest, and for a time presided over a church of St. Florinus in Rhaetia. This church was probably identical with the one of St. Peter at Remus, where Florinus had laboured as a priest and was buried. Ott, Michael. "St. Othmar." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 24 November 2021 In 720 Waltram of Thurgau appointed Othmar superior over the cell of

St. Gall Gall ( la, Gallus; 550 646) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. Deicolus was the elder brother of Gall. Biography The ...

and custodian of Gall's relics. He united into a

the monks that lived about the cell of St. Gall, according to the Rule of St. Columban, and became their first abbot. He added a hospital and a school, which became the foundation upon which the famous ''Stiftsbibliothek'' (Monastery library) was built. In 747, as a part of the reform movement of Church institutions in

Alamannia Alamannia, or Alemannia, was the kingdom established and inhabited by the Alemanni, a Germanic tribal confederation that had broken through the Roman '' limes'' in 213. The Alemanni expanded from the Main River basin during the 3rd century a ...

, he introduced the

Benedictine Rule The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

, which was to remain in effect until the

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses ...

and closure of the monastery in 1805. Othmar also provided for the needs of the surrounding community, building an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

as well as the first

leprosarium A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. ''M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Afr ...

in Switzerland. When Carloman renounced his throne in 747, he visited Othmar at St. Gall and gave him a letter to his brother Pepin, recommending Othmar and his monastery to the king's liberality. Othmar personally brought the letter to Pepin, and was kindly received. In 759, Counts Warin and Ruodhart tried to gain possession of some property belonging to St. Gall, Othmar fearlessly resisted their demands. Hereupon they captured him while he was on a journey to Constance, and held him prisoner, first at the castle of Bodmann, then on the island of Werd in the Rhine. At the latter place he died, after an imprisonment of six months, and was buried.

Veneration

Othmar's cult began to spread soon after his death, and next to Maurice and Gall, he is one of the most popular saint in Switzerland. In 769 his body was transferred to the monastery of St. Gall. As the weather was very hot, when the men rowed his body over the lake, they became extremely thirsty. Legends say that the only barrel of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

they had left did not become empty, regardless of how much they drank. Therefore, the wine barrel became one of his attributes. His cult was officially recognized in 864 by

Solomon I (bishop of Constance) Solomon (or Salomon) I (died 871) was the Bishop of Constance from an unknown date between 835 and 847 until his death. He was the first of an "episcopal dynasty" which ruled Constance until 919 and briefly held the Diocese of Freising from 884 unt ...

.St. Othmar - Catholic Online
/ref> In 867 he was solemnly entombed in the new church of St. Othmar at St. Gall. His feast is celebrated on 16 November. He is represented in art as a Benedictine abbot, generally holding a little barrel in his hand, an allusion to the alleged miracle, that a barrel of Othmar never became empty, no matter how much he took from it to give to the poor.

Legacy

St. Gallen Cathedral The ''Stiftskirche St. Gallus und Otmar'' (Collegiate Church of St. Gall and Otmar) is a Roman Catholic church in the city of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Part of the Abbey of St. Gall, it has been the cathedral of the Diocese of St. Gallen since 1847 ...

is dedicated to Gall and Othmar. St. Othmar chapel on Werd island was erected in his memory.

References

Abbots of Saint Gall Swiss Roman Catholic saints 680s births 750s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 8th-century Christian saints Founders of Catholic religious communities {{saint-stub