Saint Rasso of Andechs | |
---|---|
Born | c. 900 |
Died | 953 |
Feast | May 17; May 19 (Grafrath, Andechs) |
Attributes | military attire |
Patronage | invoked against stomach pains, especially in children[1] |
Saint Rasso of Andechs (also Rasso of Grafrath, Graf Ratt, Ratho, Grafrath, Rasso von Andechs) (c. 900–953) was a Bavarian count and military leader, pilgrim, and saint. He was the count (Graf) of Dießen-Andechs, leading the Bavarians against invading Magyars in the tenth century. No contemporary Vita of Rasso has survived and various legends arose around his cult in the late Middle Ages.[2] However, there is no reason to doubt that there existed a count named Rasso who fought against the Magyars in the 950s.[3]
As a middle-aged man, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Rome, where he collected relics, returning to found a Benedictine abbey at Wörth, later named Grafrath after him.[4]
He was a large man. When his relics were exhumed in 1468, it was determined that he was some 2 meters (6 ft 6 in) tall, although it was previously thought that he was even taller, since the size of his actual grave was 2 and a half meters.[1]