Trasilla and Emiliana
Saints Trasilla and Emiliana | |
|---|---|
| Died | 6th century |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast |
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Trasilla (or Tarsila[a]) and Emiliana (sometimes Aemiliana [b]) were aunts of Gregory the Great and are venerated as virgin saints of the sixth century. They appear in the Roman Martyrology, Trasilla on 24 December, Emiliana on 5 January.
History[edit]
Trasilla and Emiliana were sisters who came from an ancient Roman noble family, the gens Anicia. Their brother, Senator Gordian, was a very rich patrician with a magnificent villa on the Caelian Hill and large estates in Sicily.[1]
Gregory (Hom. XXXVIII, 15, on the Gospel of St. Matthew, and Lib. Dial., IV, 16) relates that his father, the Roman senator Gordian, had three sisters: Trasilla, Emiliana, and Gordiana. All three had devoted themselves to a religious life and led a life of virginity, fasting, and prayer. They practiced their faith in their father's house, located on the Clivus Scauri in Rome.[2] Gordiana, at first as devout as her sisters, later abandoned this calling and is thus not venerated as a saint.
Tradition states that Felix III, an ancestor, appeared to Trasilla and bade her to enter Heaven, and on the eve of Christmas Trasilla died, seeing Jesus Christ beckoning.[2] The legend also states that Trasilla a few days later appeared to Emiliana, inviting her to celebrate Epiphany in heaven.
Tradition says that their relics and those of their sister-in-law, Silvia, are in the Oratory of St. Andrew on the Celian Hill.
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "The Saints Tarsilla and Emiliana of Rome", Diocese of Oslo
- ^ a b Mershman, Francis. "Sts. Trasilla and Emiliana." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 29 May 2016
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sts. Trasilla and Emiliana". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.