Dodo of Asch, Bl.

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DODO OF ASCH, BL.

Premonstratensian hermit; d. Asch, Friesland, Mar. 30, 1231. After several years of a marriage reluctantly contracted, he became a Premonstratensian canon of Mariengaard, and his wife entered a convent. Permitted to live as a hermit in a cell at Bakkeveen, Dodo practiced extraordinary austerities for many years. About five years before his death he moved to a sanctuary at Asch. His reputation for sanctity and wonder-working attracted the sick of every kind, and many were cured. Stigmata were found on his body when he died, but they may have been caused by the falling wall that killed him. His feast has been celebrated by the premonstratensians in Spain at least since 1636.

Feast: March 30.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum March 3:847849. h. thurston, "Some Physical Phenomena of Mysticism," Month 134 (1919) 4546.

[j. j. john]