Gaudentius of Ossero - The Legend

The Legend

There is an alleged history of St. Gaudentius. It is believed that his reforms did not comply with the wishes of some noble men from Osor, who took advantage of the instability within the papal state and attacked him. The bishop Gaudentius escaped and hid at the base of Mount Osoršćica. There he lived in a cave for one year. The cave was full of snakes and while he was repenting, he begged God for mercy to free these islands forever from poisonous snakes. He escaped to Rome and he continued with his penitential life in the Franciscan monastery in Ancona, where he died on May 31, 1044.

One hundred years later, all the bells began to ring by themselves early before dawn. Later, the citizens then found there was a wooden chest in the sea under the town wall. In it, there was another iron chest with the body of St. Gaudentius. He was proclaimed the patron saint of the town and the whole island. His remains are now in the alter of the church of his name.