A Carthusian monk originally from Novara, Oddo became an abbot before resigning his position to Pope Clement III to return to solitude. He spent his final days in Tagliacozzo as a spiritual guide to nuns, living in extreme austerity until the age of one hundred. His life was marked by exemplary purity and numerous posthumous miracles.
Guided reading
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BLESSED ODDO OF NOVARA (1196).
Origins and entry into religious life
Odon was born in Novara and joined the Carthusian Order at the monastery of Casotto, where he distinguished himself by his piety and austerity.
No one is unaware that throughout all periods of its history, the Carthusian Order counted among its members a great number of men who shone with the most heroic virtues and died in great reputation for holiness. Among these glorious disciples of Saint Bruno, we see the Blessed Odon, who was born in Novara ar ound the year 1196, le bienheureux Odon Carthusian monk and abbot, known for his ascetic life and spiritual direction in Tagliacozzo. shine in a sp ecial Novare City of which Gaudentius is the bishop and patron saint. way.
Called early on to follow a holy vocation, he generously renounced all perishable goods to embrace religious life in the Carthusian monastery located in a place called Casotto, not far from his native land. He received holy o Casotto Carthusian monastery where Odo began his religious life. rders and distinguished himself among all his brothers by the austerity of his life, by his love of silence and cenobitic rules, by his taste for divine things, and above all by his eminent piety toward God. His soul was so pure and so richly endowed with the treasures of grace that no profane thought ever came, even during his sleep, to disturb its admirable candor. Thus, his reputation for holiness spread rapidly throughout his Order, and it was quite naturally thought that a man such as he would be perfectly suited to lead others. This is why we soon see him appointed to the monastery of Adria Adria Possible location of the monastery directed by Odo in Illyria. in Illyria or, as some authors claim, of Seiz Seiz Possible location of the monastery directed by Odo in Styria. in Styria.
Monastic duties and resignation
Appointed superior in Illyria or Styria, he faced legal disputes and asked Pope Clement III to be relieved of his duties.
But some time later, judicial controversies were raised between a certain bishop and Odo's monastery; seeing himself compelled to defend the rights of his convent and fearing quarrels and tumult above all else, our holy abbot, who had r etired to the cl notre saint abbé Carthusian monk and abbot, known for his ascetic life and spiritual direction in Tagliacozzo. oister to find solitude, went without delay to find Pope Clement III and implored him earnes tly to grant him pape Clément III Pope who requested Albert for arbitrations. the grace to resign from the office with which he was invested. His prayer having been accepted, he reached the mountains of the Marsi region in Italy, arrived, exhausted with fatigue, at the place called Tagliacozzo, and was r eceived wit Tagliacozzo Place of retreat and death of Odo in Italy. h the greatest charity in the hospice that was built very close to a monastery of nuns next to a church dedicated to the martyrs Saints Cosmas and Damian. Now, the abbess of the sa saints Côme et Damien Martyrs to whom the church of Tagliacozzo is dedicated. id monastery, who was a close relative of the Sovereign Pontiff, struck with admiration upon seeing the gravity and modesty of this man, thought not without reason that he must be very capable of directing nuns well. After having asked the Pope for permission, she obtained, by dint of prayers, that Odo should become her guide in the ways of perfection, and she had a very small cell built for him next to the monastery where this holy man practiced poverty, abstinence, and the harshest austerities in an admirable manner.
Eremitic life and spiritual direction
Retired to Tagliacozzo, he became the spiritual guide of a monastery of nuns and lived in an isolated cell practicing rigorous asceticism.
Full of zeal to exercise the functions of the holy ministry, to announce the divine word and to inflame the nuns with an ever-greater love for perfection, he also used his small moments of leisure to perform some manual labor. God was pleased to increase his reputation through the brilliance of miracles. Having reached a very advanced old age (about one hundred years), he understood that his death was imminent; on the eve of the day it occurred, which was the Ides of January in the year 1196, the local clergy being with him, he exhorted them in the most touching manner to love for God, then he predicted that his death would occur the following day. He forbade being buried with pomp, and wished that his body be wrapped only in the poor sack that served as his clothing. The next day, he was seen completely absorbed in the most heavenly aspirations, then he fell asleep peacefully in the arms of the Lord.
End of life and veneration
Odo died a centenarian in 1196 after predicting his end; his body was later transferred near the altar of Saints Cosmas and Damian following numerous miracles.
Numerous reported miracles followed, historians say, the death of our Blessed one. About forty years later, his body was removed from the place where it had been originally buried and was transported with the greatest honors to the altar of Saints Cosmas and Damian.
Note on ecclesiastical architecture
A textual fragment discusses the position of bell towers in ancient churches of regular or secular communities.
word, were characterized by the tower-plan above the intersection of the nave and the transepts. I was not at all unaware, when I used this expression for the first time, that many current parishes carried the bell tower in front of the choir; but I already suspected what I have often observed since, that they had been built originally for an ecclesiastical community (regular or secular), and that the parish had taken possession of them much later. This is so simple that one can use it as an archaeological argument of the arena; I have verified it in many circumstances, to the great surprise of those who do not know the starting point" (Mélanges d'archéologie et caractéristiques, p. 74.)
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Entered the Carthusian monastery of Casotto
- Appointed abbot at the monastery of Adria (or Seiz)
- Meeting with Pope Clement III to resign from his office
- Retreat in Tagliacozzo at a convent of nuns
- Died at the age of about one hundred
- Translation of his body forty years after his death
Miracles
- Gift of prophecy (announcement of his own death)
- Miracles reported after his death during the translation of his body