Vitalis of Milan

Vitalis of Milan was an early Christian martyr and saint.

Biography His legend relates that Vitalis was a wealthy citizen of Milan, perhaps a soldier. He was married to Valeria of Milan. They are supposed to have been the parents of the (perhaps legendary) Gervasius and Protasius.

According to legend, Vitalis was an officer who accompanied the judge Paulinus from Milan to Ravenna. He encouraged Ursicinus of Ravenna to be steadfast at his execution, and himself gave Ursicinus an honorable burial. Vitalis was discovered to be a Christian. Paulinus ordered Vitalis to be racked and then thrown into a deep pit and covered with stones and earth.

The date of his martyrdom is uncertain: some sources say that he was a victim of Nero; others, of Marcus Aurelius. He was martyred in Ravenna, 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 Vitalis is honoured as the principal patron saint of the city of Ravenna.

The feast day of Saint Vitalis is 28 April. Churches are dedicated in honor of Saint Vitalis at Assisi, and Rome, in Italy and at Jadera (now Zadar) in Dalmatia (now Croatia), 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.

A statue of Saint Vitalis is among those atop the northern half of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s colonnade surrounding St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City.