Oderisio of Montecassino

Who they were

Bl. Oderisius, abbot of Monte Cassino, and cardinal, was descended from the counts of Marsi and entered Monte Cassino while St. Desiderius— later Pope Victor III—was its abbot. On account of his learning and other eminent qualifications, he was made prior of the abbey, and Pope Nicholas II created him cardinal. This elevation changed nothing in his manner of life, which was always one of monastic simplicity. When Pope Victor III, who had retained the government of the abbey, was at the point of death, he appointed Cardinal Oderisius to succeed him in the abbatial dignity in 1087. Oderisius followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, completed the buildings the latter had begun and insisted upon conscientious observance of the Rule. In his public career he was invariably loyal to the Roman Pontiffs in their struggles with antipopes. He died in peace in the year 1105.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

A Benedictine Martyrology (1922) remembers him on 2 December.

Connected on this site

• Victor III Blessed
  “Desiderius— later Pope Victor III—was its abbot.” — this site's research