Bishop Sessa – the man, the myth*

Bishop Sessa was a 15th century small town church figure in Italy with a love
of food, wine and games in equal measures.
Bishop Sessa’s infatuation with eating and drinking was matched only by his
reverence for games, in particular chess and his dedication to the spiritual and
physical welfare of his congregation.
For decades the Bishop kept his churchgoers safe from the blood-feud politics of
medieval Italy with a combination of political strategy, bartering and religious
threats.
When not deeply entrenched in a religious tract Sessa would keep his mind and
wit sharp by playing highly strategic games such as chess.
Legend has it Bishop Sessa (BS) once fasted for a week before playing a game
of chess with an acolyte. During the fast BS personally carved the game pieces
from a local hard cheese. Neither man was permitted to eat until his
gamesmanship had provided him with a hard won piece. BS insisted the denial
and subsequent game sharpened his mind while strengthening his faith and
resolve through adversity and self-denial. There is no record of who won but by
all accounts the Bishop was a master.
An avid fan of the local grapes BS made the sacramental wine for his small
congregation plus a little extra for his own dinner table from vines grown on a
small dusty slope behind the chapel. He could often be found tending his
vineyard with an exactitude bordering on the spiritual and in the heavy-handed
game of small town 15th century politics his adherence to winemaking
principles was offered as an example of his lack of faith and application to the
word of god. Nevertheless he never allowed his detractors to interfere with
what he referred to in his diaries as “the Lord’s other work”.
Bishop Sessa’s generosity was also legendary. Gifts of fresh meat, fruit and
vegetables given to him by grateful churchgoers often found their way into the
houses of the poor with the only indication of their provenance being a small
chess-board bishop carved from Parmesan left along with the other foodstuffs.
BS died in curious circumstances. He was last seen by passing townsfolk on a
clear winter’s day pruning the vines in the chapel vineyard. He failed to return
for the evening meal and although his congregation searched for days neither
he nor his body was ever found. This has encouraged many to suggest this is
proof of his deserved sainthood but to date The Vatican has not seen fit to
recommend him for beatification.
*All names and facts in this account have been changed to protect the guilty.