Saint Vitalian(us) of Capua ( it, San Vitaliano di Capua) was a 7th-century bishop of that city. Both the ''Roman Martyrology'' (under 3 September) and the ''

Martyrologium Hieronymianum The ''Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' (meaning "martyrology of Jerome") or ''Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi'' (meaning "martyrology of Saint Jerome") is an ancient martyrology or list of Christian martyrs in calendar order, one of the most used a ...

'' state that Vitalian was a native of the ancient city of Caudium, which corresponds to today's

Montesarchio Montesarchio ( nap, Muntesarchio; la, Caudium; grc, Καύδιον, Kaúdion) is a ''comune'' in the Province of Benevento, Campania, southern Italy. It is located south-west of Benevento in the Valle Caudina at the foot of Monte Taburno. The ...

, which lay on the

Appian Way The Appian Way (Latin and Italian language, Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient Roman Republic, republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is ...

between

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...

and

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

.San Vitaliano di Capua
/ref> He is considered the twenty-fifth bishop of Capua, as well as a

bishop of Benevento The Italian Catholic metropolitan Archdiocese of Benevento ( la, Archidioecesis Beneventana) has a long history; it now has five suffragan dioceses: the diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia, the diocese of Avellino, the diocese of Cerreto Sannita- ...

. A legendary life of the saint written at the end of the 12th century, perhaps by a

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

of Benevento, states that he was involved in the establishment of a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

on Monte Vergine, which later became an important site for the Williamites. According to this legend, Vitalian was proclaimed bishop of Capua against his will. Almost immediately, however, he was accused by his enemies of various calumnies and sins. Vitalian attempted to defend himself, and then, after he had proven his innocence, left the city. Unfortunately, he was captured and tossed into the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri"). ...

in a bag of leather. However, according to church tradition he was saved by divine intervention and made landfall at Ostia. Capua was punished meanwhile with

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

and

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

. The Capuans begged him to return, but Vitalian refused and withdrew to Mount Partenio (Monte Vergine), where he erected a sacred oratory dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. He died in 699 AD.

Veneration

His cult spread across the

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

. Around 716 AD, his body was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

from Monte Vergine to Benevento under Bishop John (Giovanni) of Benevento, although some scholars state that it was moved around 914 AD due to

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

incursions. In 1122,

Pope Callistus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, ...

donated some relics of Vitalian to Catanzaro. He was sometimes confused with Vitalian of Osimo, causing identical feast days for both saints. In 1311 Pietro Ruffo, Count of Catanzaro, built a chapel in the cathedral of the city that carried the saint's relics; it was rebuilt in 1583 by bishop Nicolò Orazio. The ''Calendario Marmoreo'' ("marble calendar") of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, built in the 9th century, lists this saint under 3 September.

Notes

External links

Vitalian of Capua

San Vitaliano di Capua
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitalian Of Capua 699 deaths Italian saints Bishops of Capua Bishops of Benevento 7th-century Italian bishops 7th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown