Protasius of Milan

Saint Protasius was archbishop of Milan in the fourth century, the ninth in the line of bishops of the city, which was then called Mediolanum. He departed to the Lord around the year 343, on 24 November, the day on which he is commemorated. He should not be confused with the martyr Protasius whom Saint Ambrose later found together with Gervasius.

Very little is known about his life. He was elected bishop of Milan in 328 and served until his death, about 343. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, in his Apology to Constantius, says that Protasius was with him when he spoke to the emperor Constantius II, an episode dated to about 342 or 343.

In 343 Protasius attended the Council of Sardica and signed its decrees, standing against the Arians and supporting the faith of the Council of Nicaea. He was thus one of the defenders of the right faith at a time when Arianism was spreading in the West.

His body was buried in Milan, in the church of San Vittore al Corpo, where he is still venerated. A later tradition, with no historical basis, connects him with a Milanese family, the Algisi.