Saint Bessus

Who is Saint Bessus?

Saint Bessus, sometimes Besse, is venerated as a member of the legendary Theban Legion, whose members were led by Saint Maurice and were martyred for their Christian faith in the 3rd century. Except for St. Maurice's cult, veneration for Bessus enjoyed a wider popularity than those associated with other saints of the Theban Legion and remains popular today. According to tradition, Constantius survived the decimation of his Legion and fled to valleys of Aosta and Cogne. He then dedicated himself to converting the people in this area to Christianity.

Evidence for Bessus' existence is confused and uncertain: the name of Bessus is actually identified with two different, semi-legendary saints with the same name: one was a martyred bishop of Ivrea who lived in the eighth century, the other was a hermit with the same name who lived in an Alpine sanctuary near Campiglia in Val Soana. In addition, there are two feast days associated with Bessus that were celebrated at Ivrea: August 10 and December 1. The cult of Saint Bessus may actually represent the Christianization of the cult associated with the Egyptian god Bes, also invoked for fertility. Bessus and Bes, as Fabio Arduino points out, are both associated with an ostrich feather in their iconography.