Othmar, (also ''Audomar'', 689 – 759) was a Medieval

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. He served as the first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of the

Abbey of St. Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall () is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had er ...

, 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 ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

near where the city of St. Gallen, now in Switzerland, developed.

Life

Othmar was of Alemannic descent, received his education at the cathedral school in

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

in Rhaetia. He was ordained priest, and for a time presided over a church of St. Florinus in Rhaetia. This church was probably identical with the one of St. Peter at Remus, where Florinus had laboured as a priest and was buried.Ott, Michael. "St. Othmar." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 24 November 2021 In 720 Waltram of Thurgau appointed Othmar superior over the cell of St. Gall and custodian of Gall's relics.''The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature''. (James Strong and John McClintock, eds.) Harper and Brothers; NY; 1880
/ref> Othmar united into a

the monks that lived about the cell of St. Gall, according to the Rule of St. Columban, and became their first abbot. He added a hospital and a school, which became the foundation upon which the famous ''Stiftsbibliothek'' (Monastery library) was built. In 747, as a part of the reform movement of Church institutions in

Alamannia Alamannia, or Alemania, was the kingdom established and inhabited by the Alemanni, a Germanic tribal confederation that had broken through the Roman '' limes'' in 213. The Alemanni expanded from the Main River basin during the 3rd century and ...

, he introduced the

Benedictine Rule The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...

, which was to remain in effect until the

secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

and closure of the monastery in 1805. Othmar also provided for the needs of the surrounding community, building an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

as well as the first

leprosarium A leper colony, also known by #Names, many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. ''Mycobacterium leprae, M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believ ...

in what is now Switzerland, as well as others in France and Germany. When Carloman renounced his throne in 747, he visited Othmar at St. Gall and gave him a letter to his brother Pepin, recommending Othmar and his monastery to the king's liberality. Othmar personally brought the letter to Pepin, and was kindly received. In 759, Counts Warin and Ruodhart tried to gain possession of some property belonging to St. Gall, Othmar fearlessly resisted their demands. Hereupon they captured him while he was on a journey to Constance, and held him prisoner, first at the castle of Bodmann, then on the island of Werd in the Rhine. At the latter place he died, after an imprisonment of six months, and was buried."St. Othmar’s Chapel - Werd Island", Schaffhauserland Tourismus
/ref>

Veneration

Othmar's cult began to spread soon after his death, and next to Maurice and Gall, he is one of the most popular saint in Switzerland. In 769 his body was transferred to the monastery of St. Gall. As the weather was very hot, when the men rowed his body over the lake, they became extremely thirsty. Legends say that the only barrel of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

they had left did not become empty, regardless of how much they drank. Therefore, the wine barrel became one of his attributes. His cult was officially recognized in 864 by Solomon I (bishop of Constance). In 867 he was solemnly entombed in the new church of St. Othmar at St. Gall. His feast is celebrated on 16 November. He is represented in art as a Benedictine abbot, generally holding a little barrel in his hand, an allusion to the alleged miracle, that a barrel of Othmar never became empty, no matter how much he took from it to give to the poor. Werdinsel Kapelle

Legacy

St. Gallen Cathedral is dedicated to Gall and Othmar. In the 10th century, St. Othmar chapel on Werd island was erected in his memory. There is a church named for St. Othmar in

Mödling Mödling () is the capital of the Austrian Mödling (district), district of the same name located approximately 15 km south of Vienna. Mödling lies in Lower Austria's industrial zone (Industrieviertel). The Mödlingbach, a brook which rises ...

, Austria. The Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck (; from 1872 to 1873: Edwinton) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat, seat of Burleigh County, North Dakota, Burleigh County. It is the state's List of cities i ...

holds a reliquary containing some relics of St. Othmar."Saints in our Reliquary", Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary, Bismarck, North Dakota
/ref> The Swiss

team handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a Handball goalkeeper, goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands ...

club TSV St. Otmar St. Gallen is named after him.

References

Abbots of Saint Gall Swiss Roman Catholic saints 680s births 750s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 8th-century Christian saints Founders of Catholic religious communities 8th-century Christian abbots {{saint-stub