Ursus of Aosta

Saint Ursus of Aosta
Died	6th century Aosta
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Major shrine	Sant'Orso, Aosta
Feast	February 1; sometimes June 17
Attributes	archdeacon with a staff and book, bearing birds on his shoulder; wearing fur pelisse in a religious habit; striking water from a rock; or giving shoes to the poor.
Patronage	Ivrea; Cogne; invoked in childbirth; children who die before baptism; invoked against faintness, kidney disease, and rheumatism

Saint Ursus of Aosta (Italian: Sant'Orso d'Aosta; French: Saint Ours d'Aoste; fl. 6th century) was an Italian evangelist, today venerated as a saint.

Biography

Ursus is an Italian saint of the 6th century. His feast day is February 1 (June 17 in some areas). The collegiate church of Saint Ursus in Aosta is dedicated to him.

Said to have been of Irish origin, he evangelized the region of Digne. An opponent of Arianism, he served as archdeacon to Jucundus (in Italian, San Giocondo; in French, Saint Joconde), bishop of Aosta. When Plocean, an Arian, became bishop of Aosta, Ursus and several other canons left the cathedral of Aosta and established themselves at the present site of the collegiate church of Saint Ursus.

External links

• Saints of February 1: Ursus of Aosta
• (in Italian) Sant'Orso d'Aosta
• (in French) Foire de Saint-Ours