St. Bessus

  Posted on August 20, 2024  by admin  No comments

Died: thrown from Mount Fautenio c.286 Campiglia Soana, Turin, Italy, the spot where he landed (and died) left an impression in the rock, and a shrine was soon built over it, relics taken to Ozegna in the 9th century and enshrined a chapel now known as the Beata Vergine del Convento e del Bosco, relics later taken to the cathedral of Virea, Italy and enshrined in a sarcophagus, relics later enshrined in a side altar in the cathedral with those of several other martyr saints

Patronage: soldiers, for fertility, Campiglia Soana, Italy, Cogne, Italy, Ivrea, Italy, Valprato Soana, Italy.

Also known as Besso, Besse

Soldier of the Theban Legion. Convert to Christianity. He escaped the massacre of the Legion and became an evangelist in the mountain district of Val Soana. Reported to be a miracle worker and able to heal by prayer. Martyr. Because of the understandably poor records from the period, and the similarity of his name both to other evangelists in the region and to a pre-Christian god, Bessus has figured into a lot of folk tales, practices and later legends.