Martyr Vitus of Rome

Martyr Vitus was born in Sicily to a noble pagan family. He was secretly converted to Christ by his tutor Modestus and nurse Crescentia, and from childhood became known for the gift of wonderworking and healing the possessed. When his father learned of his faith, he tried by force and flattery to make his son renounce it, but without success, and then reported him to the authorities. According to tradition, the boy Vitus had to flee with Modestus and Crescentia to Lucania and then to Rome, where he healed the son of Emperor Diocletian of possession; but when the miracle was attributed not to Christ but to the pagan gods, and this proved false, the enraged emperor accused Vitus of sorcery and subjected him and his tutors to cruel torture — they were thrown into boiling pitch and to wild lions, but, according to tradition, remained unharmed by the power of God. They died from their torments around 303. He is venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (in the Catholic tradition), patron against epilepsy, paralysis, and the bites of rabid animals.