Trasilla (also called Tarsila, Tharsilla, Thrasilla[1][2]) and Emiliana (also called Aemiliana, Emilie, Æmiliana[1][3]) were aunts of Pope Gregory I and are venerated as virgin saints of the sixth century. They appear in the Roman Martyrology, Trasilla on 24 December, Emiliana on 5 January.[4][2]
Saints Trasilla and Emiliana | |
|---|---|
| Died | 6th century |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast |
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Life
editTrasilla and Emiliana were sisters who came from an ancient Roman noble family, the gens Anicia. Their brother, Senator Gordian, was a rich patrician who owned "a magnificent villa on the Caelian Hill and large estates in Sicily",[1] and who became the father of Pope Gregory I.[4] They had another sister, Gordiana (also called Gordia), who was much younger.[2] Their grandfather was Pope Felix III and Pope Agapetus I was probably an ancestor. Their mother, Silvia, was also a saint.[1] Gregory wrote that his father had three sisters, who vowed themselves to God and lived a life of virginity, fasting, and prayer in their father's home on the Clivus Scauri in Rome. Even though they did not live in a monastery, they were consecrated and lived according to a rule. Gordiana eventually left to marry the manager of her estates,[1][2][4] although Gregory said that she "went to perdition".[5] According to hagiographer Agnes Dunbar, "[Trasilla] was so constant at her prayers that her knees became hard like those of a camel".[2] Hagiographer Sabine Baring-Gould says that "with great satisfaction",[5] the story was confirmed by Gregory.
Tradition states that "after many years of service",[4] Felix III, appeared to Trasilla, showed her "a throne prepared for her",[2] and ordered her to enter heaven; "seeing Jesus beckoning"[4] and struck with a fever, she died on Christmas Eve. A few days later, Trasilla appeared to Emiliana, inviting her to celebrate Epiphany in heaven; she died the day before, on January 5.[1][2][6][4] Most of what is known about their life, visions, and death are from Gregory, who spoke about them from his 38th homily on the Gospel of Matthew and his Dialogues.[1]
According to tradition, their relics and those of their mother, Silvia, are in the Oratory of Saint Andrew on the Celian Hill.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Saints Tarsilla and Emiliana of Rome (d. ~550)". Den Katolske Kirke (in Norwegian). 28 November 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dunbar, Agnes Baillie Cunninghame (1904). A Dictionary Of Saintly Women. Vol. 2. New York: George Bell and Sons. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Baring-Gould, p. 272
- ^ a b c d e f g Mershman, Francis (1912). "Sts. Trasilla and Emiliana". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ a b Baring-Gould, p. 273
- ^ Baring-Gould, p. 272
Works cited
edit- Baring-Gould, Sabine (1897). The Lives of the Saints. Vol. 15. London: John C. Nimmo. pp. 272–273. Retrieved 27 April 2024.