Oranne d'Eschweiler

Who they were

Oranna is one of the most distinctive figures of Christian tradition in the region between the Saar and Moselle rivers. Her story, placed by tradition in the 6th or 7th century, is wrapped in legendary elements that make a reliable biography impossible: late hagiographic sources call her a woman of Irish or Scottish origin, or alternatively the daughter of a duke of Lorraine, who came to the area of today's Franco-German border to live as a hermit and preach Christianity. A companion, Cirilla, is associated with her, and the two are said to have been buried together in the church of the old village of Eschweiler, near Berus.

The documented history of her veneration is much later: on 3 May 1480 the sarcophagus venerated at Eschweiler was opened before the auxiliary bishop of Metz, and the remains of two women were found, an event recorded in an official document that marked a decisive moment for her devotion. The relics were moved to Berus in 1719 and, after various vicissitudes, returned to the chapel of Sant'Oranna on 22 September 1969. She is still venerated today in the Saar and German-speaking Lorraine region, especially as patroness of those suffering from hearing problems and vertigo.

The miracles

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

Why that counted as sanctity

Hermit and evangelist of the Saar-Moselle region, venerated since the 6th-7th century, patroness against hearing problems and vertigo; feast 15 September.