De sancto Vitali
The Wings of the Soul
The name Vitalis is interpreted through the metaphor of four spiritual wings that lift the soul toward God.
Vitalis lived as if he were truly vital, for the way he lived outwardly in his actions was the same as how he lived inwardly in his heart. The name 'Vitalis' either comes from 'life' or means 'living by wings'—that is, shielding himself with the wings of the virtues. He was like one of the living creatures Ezekiel saw, possessing four wings: the wing of hope, with which he flew toward heaven; the wing of love, with which he flew toward God; the wing of fear, with which he flew toward the depths; and the wing of knowledge, with which he flew into himself. His passion is recorded in... it is believed to have been found in the little book of Gervasius and Protasius. . . .
The Martyrdom of Vitalis
Vitalis encourages a fellow Christian to remain steadfast in faith before suffering his own burial alive at the hands of Paulinus.
Vitalis, a consular soldier, fathered Gervasius and Protasius with his wife, Valeria. When he arrived in Ravenna with the judge Paulinus, he saw a Christian doctor named Ursicinus being led to his execution after suffering various tortures. Seeing the doctor terrified, Saint Vitalis called out to him, "Don't do it, brother Ursicinus. You’ve spent your life healing others; don't kill yourself with an eternal death. You’ve reached the palm of victory through your suffering—don't lose the crown God has prepared for you." Hearing this, Ursicinus was strengthened and, repenting of his fear, willingly accepted martyrdom; Saint Vitalis then had him buried with honor and, after this, refused to come before his master, Paulinus, any longer. Paulinus was furious, partly because Vitalis refused to come to him, partly because he had kept Ursicinus from offering sacrifice, and partly because Vitalis confessed he was a Christian. He pointed this out and ordered him to be raised on the rack. Vitalis told him, "You're a fool if you think you can deceive me, for I have always made it my goal to set others free." And Paulinus said to his servants, "Take him to the palm, and if he refuses to sacrifice, dig a very deep pit until you reach water, do it there, and bury him alive and face up." They did as they were told and buried the blessed Vitalis alive, during the reign of Nero, who began his rule around the year 52.
The Fruits of Faith
The divine judgment upon the persecutor and the faithful death of Vitalis's wife, Valeria, complete the family's witness.
The priest, however, who had given this advice was immediately seized by a demon; he raved in that place for seven days, crying out, "You are burning me, Saint Vitalis!" On the seventh day, he was thrown by the demon into a river and died a miserable death. The wife of Saint Vitalis, meanwhile, while traveling to Milan, found some people sacrificing to idols. When they urged her to eat what had been offered to the idols, she replied, "I am a Christian; it is not lawful for me to eat of your sacrifices." Hearing this, they beat her so severely that her own people, who were with her, had to carry her half-dead all the way to Milan, where she happily passed to the Lord within three days.
Read the original Latin
Vitalis quasi vivens talis, quia qualis vivebat exterius in opere, talis erat intus in corde. Vel Vitalis a vita vel Vitalis vivens alis, id est tuens se alis virtutum. Ipse enim fuit tanquam unus de animalibus Dei, quae vidit Ezechiel, habens in se quatuor alas, scilicet alam spei, qua volabat in coelum , alam amoris, qua volabat in Deum, alam timoris, qua volabat in inferum, alam cognitionis, qua volabat in se ipsum. Ejus passio in. libello Gervasii et Protasii reperta fuisse putatur. . . .
Vitalis miles consularis ex Valeria uxore Gervasium et Protasium genuit. Hic cum Paulino judice Ravennam ingressus cum quendam ibidem christianum medicum nomine Ursicinum post multa tormentorum genera jussum decollari videret et ille medicus nimium expavisset, exclamavit ad eum sanctus Vitalis dicens: noli frater Ursicine medice, qui alios curare consuevisti, te ipsum aeterna morte occidere, et qui ad palmam per multas passiones venisti, noli coronam amittere tibi a Deo paratam. Quod Ursicinus audiens confortatus est et de pavore suo poenitens martirium libenter accepit, sanctus autem Vitalis eum honorifice sepeliri fecit et post hoc ad Paulinum dominum suum ultra venire contemsit. llle vero nimium indignatur, tum quia ad se venire noluit, tum quia Ursicinum sacrificare volentem retraxit, tum quia christianum se esse. ostendit, et jussit eum in equuleum levari. Cui dicit Vitalis: stultissimus es, si me putas decipere, qui alios semper studui liberare. Et ait Paulinus ministris: ducite eum ad palmam, et si sacrificare noluerit, foveam profundissimam, donec perveneritis ad aquam, ibidem facite et ibi eum vivum et supinum sepelite. Quod et fecerunt et beatum Vitalem ibidem vivum sepelierunt, sub Nerone, qui coepit circa annum domini LII.
Sacerdos autem, qui hoc consilium dederat, statim a daemone arreptus per septem dies insaniens in illo loco exclamabat dicens: incendis me sancte Vitalis, die autem septima in flumen a daemone praecipitatus miserabiliter exspiravit, Uxor autem sancti Vitalis cum Mediolanum adiret, invenit quosdam ydolis immolantes, qui cum eam hortarentur, ut ydolis immolata comederet, respondit: christiana sum, non licet mihi de vestris sacrificiis manducare. Quod illi audientes tam dire eam verberaverunt, quod homines sui, qui cum ea erant, usque Mediolanum eam semivivam deduxerunt et infra triduum feliciter migravit ad dominum.
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