Saint Vitalis and Saint Valeria

The judge, name d Paul Paulin Roman magistrate who had the two saints tortured. inus, knowing what Vitalis had done, gently exhorted him to abandon the vain superstition of the Christians and to return to the ancient religion of the Romans; otherwise, he would be forced to punish him. But Vitalis replied that he himself should rather renounce the false gods and worship the majesty of a living God, and of his son Jesus Christ, by whom the world was created and in whom it subsists. The judge had him placed on the rack, where his skin was torn, his limbs stretched, and his bones dislocated; but his constancy being proof against all these torments, Paulinus ordered that he be led to the same place where Ursicinus had been executed, and that, if he would not worship the gods, he should be placed alive into a deep pit, which would immediately be filled with stones and earth, so that he would be suffocated there. Saint Vitalis was thus put to death at the instigation of a priest of Apollo, who, at the moment the Saint expired, was possessed by the devil and tormented with such rage that he did nothing but cry out: 'You burn me, Vitalis; you torment me, Vitalis; you set me all on fire, Vitalis.' He remained in this state for the space of seven days; no longer able to endure the heat that consumed him, he finally threw himself into a river: a punishment for his cruelty against the holy Martyr. Although some authors place the martyrdom of Saint Vitalis under Nero, in the year 63, we have placed it, like Baronius, in the year 171. Magnificent churches under his name are to be seen in Rome, in Ravenna, and on Mount Saint-Sabin.

The memory of Saint Valeria, his wife, is st ill celebrated sainte Valérie Virgin honored at Honnecourt and Cambrai, traditionally said to be the sister of Saint Liephard. today, and she is given the glorious title of Martyr; because, while going to Milan , she Milan Italian city where the saint has an altar and an annual feast. encountered sacrificers who ordered her to eat meats offered to idols; and, upon her refusal, they overwhelmed her with so many blows that she was carried half-dead to Milan, where, two days later, she died from her wounds. Such is the account of Ado, in h is M Adon Author of a famous martyrology in the 9th century. artyrology, where he commemorates these two holy spouses. Those of Bede, Usuard, and the Roman Martyrology also speak of them.

Saint Vit al is consi Saint Vital Father of Gervasius and Protasius, martyr at Ravenna. dered a Roman soldier and knight, which explains the breastplate with which he is often depicted by painters and sculptors. He is also painted buried in the ground up to his waist, or else forming a group with Saint Valeria, his wife, and Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius, their children. Saint Vital is the principal patron of Ravenna. His relics are kept there in the magnificent church of his name which was built by th e Emperor Justinien Byzantine emperor who persecuted Pope Vigilius and Saint Datius. Justinian in 547: there are also some in Boulogne, in France, and in Lille. The cult of Saint Vital is popul Savoie Region where the cult of Vital is popular under the name Viard. ar in Savoy, where he is honored under the name of Saint Viard.

Cf. Hagiologica italica.