 It is thought (see the Beneventanus commentary below) that he accompanied John Cabot on his expedition to North America in 1497 and 1498, or, considering the prevalence of Portuguese names on his 1507 map, a Portuguese ship leaving from Bristol.Around 1505, Ruysch probably entered the Benedictine monastery of St. Martin in Cologne as a secular priest.Soon he left for Rome, where pope Julius II gave him a dispensation concerning his priestly occupation.