The Feast of Saints Gervasius and Protasius

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The feast of the two Milanese brothers and martyrs Ss Gervasius and Protasius is kept on June 19 in the Ambrosian Rite, although this year it is translated to today in Milan because of its concurrence with the feast of the Sacred Heart. It is also one of the oldest and most consistently attested feasts in the Roman Rite; in the Gelasian Sacramentary, it is even kept with a vigil, although this was suppressed in the 9th century. A church was built in their honor in Rome at the very beginning of the 5th century, which it is now generally referred to by the name of their father, St Vitalis, to whom it was also dedicated, along with their mother, St Valeria, and the two brothers are traditionally named in the Roman litany of the Saints. (All photos in this article by Nicola dei Grandi.)

Ss Gervasius and Protasius in the prayerbook of Arnulf II, archbishop of Milan, 998-1018; MS Egerton 3763, British Library.

Before the Tridentine reform, a letter purportedly by St Ambrose which gives an account of their history was read at Matins of their feast, but this is now recognized to be spurious, and even the date of their martyrdom is not known. However, as we reported in October of 2018, a recent forensic examination of their relics confirmed several of the traditional details of the story: that they were young, in their mid-20s, definitely brothers, and most likely twins, since they suffered from the same congenital defect of the vertebrae, and have very similar faces. One of them was decapitated, and has signs of injury on the ankle, the other was wounded on the hand with a small weapon of some sort.

The relics of St Ambrose and one of the two brothers.

In the year 386, St Ambrose uncovered their relics after being shown the place of their long-forgotten burial in a dream, and brought them to a newly built basilica, then called simply “the Basilica of the Martyrs”, and laid them in the place he had originally intended for his own burial. He also attests to the miraculous healings which accompanied this translation, as do his secretary, Paulinus, who would later write his Life, and St Augustine.

Ambrose himself died on April 4th of the year 397, which was Holy Saturday that year; since that date so frequently occurs in Holy Week or Easter Week, his feast is traditionally kept on the day of his episcopal ordination. He was laid to rest next to Protasius and Gervasius, and the basilica is now officially named after him. In the mid-ninth century, the abbot of the attached monastery placed the relics of all three saints in a large porphyry sarcophagus, which was later sunk into the floor and covered over; it was rediscovered in 1864 during a major restoration project, and the three bodies are now seen in the Confession of the church under the altar. The traditional Ambrosian Calendar also has the feast of the “Raising up of the Bodies of Ss Ambrose, Protasius and Gervasius” on May 14th.