Saint Gervase

Also known as

• Gervasius
• Gervasio

Memorial

• 19 June

Profile

Second century martyr. Son of Saint Vitalis of Milan and Saint Valeria of Milan. He and his beheaded twin brother Protase are considered the first martyrs of Milan as Saint Ambrose, guided by a vision, unearthed their remains in 386. Saint Paulinus of Nola says the martyrs appeared to Saint Ambrose in an apparition. Even when the relics were discovered, nothing was remembered about them except their names and that they were martyrs in an early persecution, perhaps under Nero. The surviving Acts of Gervase are worthless as biography as ancient writers invented details to fill in the missing details.

Died

• beaten to death with a lead-tipped whip c.165

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation

Patronage

• for the discovery of thieves
• haymakers
• —
• Citta delle Pieve, Italy
• Domodossola, Italy
• Milan, Italy
• Ossimo, Italy
• Perugia-Città della Pieve, Italy, archdiocese of
• Sondrio, Italy

Representation

• holding stones
• with his father and mother
• with Saint Protase
• youth holding a lead-tipped scourge in one hand and a sword in the other
• youth holding the palm of martyrdom

MLA Citation

• “Saint Gervase”. Saints.SQPN.com. 5 September 2010. Web. 18 May 2013. <http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-gervase/>