Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne

Saint Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne
Statue of St. Ursicinus, Hermitage St-Ursanne
Died	c. 620 AD
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Saint-Ursanne; venerated at Basel, Besançon, and Mainz
Feast	December 20
Attributes	abbot with three lilies in his hand or holding a book and fleur-de-lys, surrounded by fleur-de-lys
Patronage	invoked against stiff neck

Saint Ursicinus (also Hursannus, Ursitz, Oschanne, fl. 620) was an Irish missionary and hermit in the Jura region.

Information

A vita of his is preserved in a redaction of the 11th century. According to this account, he was a disciple of Saint Columbanus at Luxeuil who followed his master when he was banished from Burgundy in 610, but then retired as a hermit in the Doubs valley. Veneration of Ursicinus is attested since the 7th century. In Grandval, a church was dedicated to Ursicinus in 675. By the 11th century, he was part of the local canon of saints of the Besançon diocese. His feast day is on 20 December. Ursicinus' supposed sarcophagus is preserved in St-Ursanne in what is now the canton of Jura in Switzerland.

Notes

• Andreas Merkt, Ursicinus in Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, vol. 12 (1997).

External links

• Catholic Online: Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne
• Saint of the Day, December 20: Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne
• (in Italian) Sant' Ursicino del Giura