CatholicSaints.Info

Also known as

• Ursicino
• Ursicinus

Memorial

• 22 January

Profile

Bishop in Gaul (modern France) in the late 4th and early 5th century. When his region was invaded by Vandals c.407, Olcese fled to a village in the Liguria area of modern Italy; the town is today known as Sant’Olcese. There he lived as a prayerful hermit, and worked to convert the people of the region.

Legend says that a bear once killed one of a pair of oxen that were pulling a cart of building materials for Saint Olcese. The bear then turned to attack Olcese, but the saint blessed the bear, made the sign of the cross over it, and the animal took the place of the ox it had just killed. The bear and the remaining ox then hauled the materials to the site where Olcese used them to build a church.

Died

• early 5th century in Sant’Olcese, Liguria, Italy of natural causes
• relics known to have been enshrined in the local church in Sant’Olcese since at least 1155

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation

Representation

with a cart that is being pulled by a bear and an ox yoked together

MLA Citation

• “Saint Olcese“. CatholicSaints.Info. 19 June 2022. Web. 25 April 2024. <>