Attributes military attire | Name Ursus Solothurn Major shrine Solothurn | |
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Died 286 AD, Solothurn, Switzerland | ||
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church | ||
Ursus of Solothurn was a 3rd-century Roman Christian venerated as a saint. He is the patron of the Roman Catholic cathedral in Solothurn, Switzerland, where his body is located. He was associated very early with the Theban Legion and Victor of Solothurn, for instance in the Roman Martyrology. The Life of Ursus was written by Saint Eucherius of Lyon in the 5th century; it recounts that Ursus was tortured and beheaded under Emperor Maximian and the governor Hyrtacus for refusing to worship idols around 286.
Veneration
The first church dedicated to Ursus in Solothurn was probably built after Viktor's remains were taken to Geneva in the late 5th century. His relics are displayed in churches throughout Switzerland, and his coffin was found in 1519. His feast day is September 30.