Zorard was born around 980 in
Opatowiec, a small village in Poland. A tradition in the small village of
Tropie holds that in his youth he lived near there as a monk. At around the year 1000, at about the age of 20, he began living as a hermit and a missionary, evangelizing in
Olawa, Silesia (modern Poland). At some time, he also traveled to northern Hungary (today Slovakia) Around the year 1003 Zorard settled in
St. Hippolytus Monastery on Mt. Zobor near
Nitra - then part of the
Kingdom of Hungary, present day
Slovakia. He became a
Benedictine monk in the Abbey. He took the name "Andrew". There he became the spiritual guide of
Benedict of Skalka. Zorard and Benedict, with the permission of their superior Philip, later left the monastery and became hermits in a cave along the
Váh River near
Skalka nad Váhom not far from
Trenčín. Andrew died of natural causes around 1009. He practiced such severe austerities that, according to legend, the iron chain, which he wore wrapped around the belt, eventually grew into his body. Benedict continued to live in the cave for three years until he was murdered by a gang of thieves looking for treasure. In 1083 Zorard's relics were transferred to
St. Emmeram's Cathedral in Nitra where they remain to this day. A biography of Benedict and Zorard was written by
Maurus of Nitra,
Bishop of Pécs, in which it says that Zorard led a hermit life living in a small cave near the monastery. The cave has since been called
Svoradova (Zorard's). ==Feast Day and veneration==