OSVALDO, saint. - Two saints of this name deserve mention: St. O., king of Northumbria, apostle of Christianity, killed in the battle of Masefield on 5 Aug. 642 and venerated as a martyr (Martyr. Romanum, p. 324, with rich bibliography), and St. O., archbishop of York, d. 28 Feb. 992. A canon of the Cathedral Chapter of Winchester, of which he subsequently became dean, he went to France, where he began the monastic life in the abbey of Fleury. Having returned to his native land, in 961 O. was appointed bishop of Worcester, and in 972 was transferred to the see of York, while still retaining the governance of Worcester.
In both dioceses he carried out the most effective activity for the reform of the clergy and the faithful, and devoted his resources to the poor. He gave particular care to monastic life through the foundation of seven new monasteries (among them that of Ramsay) and by introducing exemplary monks into older monasteries. In all the monasteries founded or reformed by him, he introduced the usages of the abbey of Fleury. Before long his disciples increased and in several places even replaced the secular clergy in the cathedrals. St. O., king: feast, 5 Aug.; St. O., archbishop: feast, 28 Feb.