Odo of Novara


Odo of Novara was an Italian Catholic priest and a professed member from the Carthusians.
Pope Pius IX confirmed his beatification in mid-1859.

Life

He was born in Novara around 1105 and was appointed as the prior of Geirach Charterhouse in Slovenia in 1189. But he experienced difficulties with Dietrich - the local bishop - who persecuted him. Odo went to Rome in 1190 to request Pope Clement III to relieve him of his office.
He became a chaplain after his resignation at a convent in Tagliacozzo. Odo died there in 1200, aged 95.

Beatification

A process of investigation into his manner of life was initiated at the request of Pope Gregory IX. The Bishop of Trivento Riccardo described Odo as a "God-fearing man, modest and chaste, given up day and night to watching and prayer, clad only in rough garments of wool, living in a tiny cell... obeying always the sound of the bell when it called him to office".