Oda the Severe

Who they were

Oda, son of a Dane who hindered his going to church, was adopted by a nobleman who educated him for God's service. He became Bishop of Ramsbury.

Chosen Archbishop of Canterbury, he refused because previous archbishops had been monks, accepting only after taking the Benedictine habit. He repaired his cathedral and died on 2 June 959.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

A son of pagan Danes who became a holy archbishop.