Silvia, or Sylvia, (c. 515 – c. 592) was the mother of

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

. She is venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, which names her a patroness of pregnant women.

Life

Little biographical information about her exists. Her native place is sometimes given as

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, sometimes as

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Apparently she was of a distinguished family as her husband, the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

''regionarius'', Gordianus. She had, besides Gregory, a second son, whose name did not survive through the ages. Silvia was noted for her great

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...

, and she gave her sons an excellent education. After the death of her husband, around 573, she devoted herself entirely to religion in the "new cell by the gate of blessed Paul" (''cella nova juxta portam beati Pauli''). Gregory the Great had a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

of his parents executed at the monastery of Saint Andrew; it is minutely described by Johannes Diaconus.

Veneration

Celio - san Gregorio - oratorio s Silvia 1740

The veneration of Silvia is of early date. She was honoured by the Romans as a type of a Christian widow. Silvia had built 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 type ...

in her house. In 645, the monks from the monastery of Mar Saba ( Palestine) settled in this house, and devoted it to the celebration of Saint Sabas.

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

(1592–1605) inserted her name under 3 November in the Roman Martyrology. She is invoked by pregnant women for a safe delivery. Two of her relatives, sisters-in-law

Trasilla and Emiliana Trasilla (Tarsilla, Tharsilla, Thrasilla) and Emiliana were aunts of Gregory the Great, and venerated as virgin saints of the sixth century. They appear in the ''Roman Martyrology'', the former on 24 December, the latter on 5 January. History T ...

, are also venerated as saints, as well as her other sister-in-law Gordiana, and her husband Gordianus.

References

External links

Santa Silvia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silvia 515 births 592 deaths 6th-century Italo-Roman people 6th-century Byzantine people 6th-century Christian saints Italian Roman Catholic saints Female saints of medieval Italy 6th-century Italian women Pope Gregory I Medieval Italian saints