A legend uniting five Molise churches

Molise, a land full of magnificent places, centuries-old traditions and…legends!

Once upon a time, this is how fairy tales begin. The story we tell, on the other hand, blends myth and history, suggestions and places of worship: the legend of the Ox King.
Once upon a time, indeed, there was a king named Ox who was madly in love with his sister. So much so that he wanted to marry her, which was forbidden!

Love, however, conquers all, and the king, determined to go all the way, went so far as to ask permission from the Pope himself who, at first reticent, decided to enter into an agreement with the king.
He could have married his sister if he had built a hundred churches in one night.

King Ox, of course, agreed, and in order to accomplish this impossible mission he sold his soul to the devil. The devil would break the stones and the king would place them on top of each other to build churches.

The afterthought

At dawn, however, during the building of the last church, the king had second thoughts. He therefore asked God for forgiveness, which he accepted. Differently, the devil took it, who, furious at his defeat, hurled a stone at the building. Stone that is still there, after centuries, as evidence of this legend.

Churches

Of the one hundred churches built, unfortunately, there is only evidence of seven, five of which are in Molise.
These are Maria Santissima Assunta in Ferrazzano, Santa Maria di Monteverde between Vinchiaturo and Mirabello Sannitico, Santa Maria a Monte in Cercemaggiore, San Leonardo in Campobasso, and Santa Maria della Strada in Matrice.

The last two, most of all, tell of the legend of the Ox King. Indeed, on the facade of St. Leonard’s there is a bas-relief depicting an ox. Even more obvious is Santa Maria della Strada from whose facade two oxen emerge. The latter, moreover, is precisely the 100th church, and nearby, in fact, is the “devil’s rock” the rock that testifies to the defeat of the devil.