Saint Vitalis of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

( it, San Vitale) was an early

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

and

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Biography

His legend relates that Vitalis was a wealthy citizen of

, perhaps a soldier. He was married to

Valeria of Milan Saint Valeria of Milan (d. 1st or 2nd century), or Saint Valérie, according to Christian tradition, was the wife of Vitalis of Milan and the mother of Sts. Gervasius and Protasius. History "Some modern writers contend that she may have been a ch ...

. They are supposed to have been the parents of the (perhaps legendary)

Saints Gervasius and Protasius Saints Gervasius and Protasius (also Saints Gervase and Protase, Gervasis and Prothasis and in French ''Gervais and Protais'') are venerated as Christian martyrs, probably of the 2nd century. They are the patron saints of Milan and of haymakers a ...

. According to legend, Vitalis was an officer who accompanied the judge Paulinus from Milan to Ravenna. He encouraged Saint Ursicinus of Ravenna to be steadfast at his execution, and himself gave Ursicinus honorable burial. Vitalis was discovered to be a Christian. Paulinus ordered Vitalis to be

racked Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''SB Nation'' (a sports blog network founded in 2005 b ...

and then thrown into a deep pit and covered with stones and earth.Webster, Douglas Raymund. "St. Vitalis." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 24 Jan. 2014
/ref> The date of his martyrdom is uncertain: some sources say that he was a victim of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

; others, of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

. He was martyred in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, but all else in the story is suspect. "Many scholars believe that the narrative is partly fanciful, recognising in the characters mentioned, other martyrs of the same name venerated both in Milan and Ravenna."

Veneration

Saint Vitalis is honoured as the principal patron of the city of Ravenna. The feast day of Saint Vitalis is 28 April. Churches are dedicated in honor of Saint Vitalis at

Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...

, and

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 ...

, in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and at Jadera (now

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

) in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

(now

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

), but by far the most famous church bearing his name is the octagonal Basilica of San Vitale at Ravenna, a masterpiece of Byzantine art, erected on the purported site of his martyrdom. He is also the patron saint of Granarolo and

Marittima Marittima is a hamlet of the Diso municipality in the province of Lecce. Located in the lowest part of Salento between Castro, Andrano and Diso, Marittima is about 48 km from Lecce. The part of the country overlooking the coast is named M ...

in Italy. The

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral The Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral and Parish of Saint Vitalis and of the Immaculate Conception (dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, under her title, Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of the Immacula ...

recognizes Saint Vitalis as its patron. A Mass to commemorate the 75th anniversary of

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

's elevation to an

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

and the feast day of Vitalis was held on 28 April 2009, with the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Cebu Cardinal

Ricardo Vidal Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal ( la, Ricardus Titus Vidal; es, Ricardo Tito Vidal y Jamín; (February 6, 1931 - October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010. ...

presiding. A statue of Vitalis is one of those on the colonnade of

St Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...

."St. Vitalis", Saints of the Colonnade
Image:BarocciSanVitale.jpg, The Martyrdom of Saint Vitalis, by

Federico Barocci Federico Barocci (also written ''Barozzi'')(c. 1535 in Urbino – 1612 in Urbino) was an Italian Renaissance painter and printmaker. His original name was Federico Fiori, and he was nicknamed Il Baroccio. His work was highly esteemed and inf ...

. Image:Vitalisburiedalive.jpg, Vitalis being buried alive. From the ''

Martyrs Mirror ''Martyr's Mirror'' or ''The Bloody Theater'', first published in Holland in 1660 in Dutch by Thieleman J. van Braght, documents the stories and testimonies of Christian martyrs, especially Anabaptists. The full title of the book is ''The Bloody ...

''. Image:Ravenna, sant'apollinare nuovo, int., santi martiri offerenti, epoca del vescovo agnello, 02.JPG, Vitalis among the saints, in Heaven, from the 6th century

Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is a basilica church in Ravenna, Italy. It was erected by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great as his palace chapel during the first quarter of the 6th century (as attested to in the ''Liber Pontificalis ...

, in Ravenna. Image:Vitalis of Milan.jpg, The martyrdom of Saint Vitalis from a 14th-century French manuscript

References

Sources

Patron Saints: Vitalis of Milan
*

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitalis Of Milan 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Christian saints in unknown century Saints from Roman Italy Ante-Nicene Christian martyrs Premature burials Deaths by live burial Year of birth unknown