Vitalis of Milan

Saint Vitalis of Milan, martyr, also called Vitalis of Ravenna, was a martyr of the early Christian centuries, commemorated on 28 April. Little is known of him with certainty, and his Life, written late, is in part legendary; yet he remains the great patron saint of the city of Ravenna, where the famous church of San Vitale stands.

The story

According to tradition, Vitalis was a wealthy citizen of Milan, perhaps a soldier, married to the martyr Valeria and father of the holy martyrs Gervasius and Protasius. According to a writing found at Milan in 396 together with the relics of the two sons, Vitalis accompanied the judge Paulinus on a journey from Milan to Ravenna.

At Ravenna the judge tortured and then condemned to beheading the physician Ursicinus, who had confessed himself a Christian. Vitalis approached him and strengthened him, openly urging him to stand firm in his suffering, and then took care to bury him with honour. Because he had supported Ursicinus, he was discovered to be a Christian himself. Paulinus ordered him racked, then thrown into a deep pit and covered with stones and earth, so that he died buried alive.

The time of his martyrdom is uncertain: some sources place it under Nero, others under Marcus Aurelius. Many scholars regard the account as partly imaginary and see in its characters other martyrs of the same name honoured at both Milan and Ravenna. It is possible that Vitalis of Milan and Vitalis of Bologna are one and the same person.

Veneration

Saint Vitalis is the principal patron of Ravenna. The Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, a masterpiece of Byzantine art of octagonal plan, was consecrated in 548 and built on the supposed site of his martyrdom; within it a side altar is dedicated to Saint Ursicinus. In the mosaics of Sant'Apollinare in Ravenna Vitalis, his sons and his wife Valeria are shown in the processions of martyrs. Churches bearing his name stand also in Rome, Assisi, Faenza, Rimini, Como, Ferrara, Venice, Verona and Zadar. He is commemorated on 28 April.