Saint Rasso of Andechs (also ''Rasso of Grafrath,

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

Ratt, Ratho, Grafrath, Rasso von Andechs'') () was a

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n count and military leader,

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

, and

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

. He was the count (''Graf'') of Dießen-Andechs, leading the Bavarians against invading

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

in the tenth century. No contemporary ''Vita'' of Rasso has survived and various legends arose around his cult in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. However, there is no reason to doubt that there existed a count named Rasso who fought against the Magyars in the 950s.Charles R. Bowlus, ''The Battle of Lechfeld And Its Aftermath, August 955: The End'' (Ashgate Publishing, 2006), 143n. As a middle-aged man, he went on a pilgrimage to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he collected

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

, returning to found a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

at Wörth, later named Grafrath after him.Ott, Michael. "Andechs." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 16 (Index). New York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1914. 13 November 2022 He was a large man. When his

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.

Veneration

The healing

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

and pilgrimage church (''Wallfahrtskirche'') of St. Rasso at Grafrath received many visitors during the Middle Ages and afterwards; records of the

miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

attributed to him between the years 1444 and 1728 consist of 12,131 entries. In 955, the relics that Rasso had brought from Rome and the Holy Land to his monastery at Wörth were transferred to Andechs Abbey to preserve them from the ravages of the Magyars.

Notes

External links

Saints of May 17

„Rasso wahrscheinlich älter“
– aktuelle Wertung von Ungereimtheiten der Quellen (Dr. Ernst Meßmer ist auch Author der beiden Rasso-Monografien, die bei der Deutschen Nationalbibiothek unter dem Stichwort ''Rasso'' verzeichnet sind) *

Fresken in der Stiftskirche Andechs von

Johann Baptist Zimmermann Johann Baptist Zimmermann (3 January 1680, Wessobrunn, Gaispoint — 2 March 1758, Munich) was a German Painting, painter and a prime Stucco, stucco plasterer during the Baroque. Zimmermann was born in Gaispoint, Wessobrunn. He and his brothe ...

, 1751–1754 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rasso 10th-century Christian saints German Roman Catholic saints 900s births 953 deaths Year of birth uncertain People of medieval Bavaria