Saint Beatus of Lungern

Also known as

• Apostle of Switzerland
• Beatus of Beatenberg
• Beatus of Thun

Memorial

• 9 May

Profile

Convert, baptized in England by Saint Barnabas the Apostle. Priest, ordained in Rome, Italy by Saint Peter the Apostle. Missionary to Switzerland. Lived in a cave above the Lake of Thun, which tradition says is where he fought a dragon (often used as a metaphor for chasing the devil out of a region by bringing in Christianty); it became known as Mount Beatenburg in his honor, and became a place of pilgrimage in later years. Confessor of the faith.

Died

• c.112 on Mount Beatenburg, Lake of Thun, Switzerland of natural causes

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation
• after the Reformation his cultus was transferred to the chapel at Lungern, Obwalden

Patronage

• Beatenberg, Switzerland

Representation

• old man in a cave, usually reading
• monk fighting or chasing a dragon
• monk with a book and a weapon

Additional Information

• Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
• Catholic Online
• Kathpedia
• New Catholic Dictionary
• Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
• Wikipedia

MLA Citation

• “Saint Beatus of Lungern“. Saints.SQPN.com. 14 May 2013. Web. 25 May 2013. <>