Saints Vitus, Modestus & Crescentia, Martyrs
Ss. Viti, Modesti et Crescentiae Martyrum
These three early martyrs — the young Vitus with his tutor Modestus and his nurse Crescentia — have been venerated together since ancient times, witnesses to Christ from the age of the great persecutions.
Saints Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia are among the martyrs whose veneration is very old and widespread, though the history of their lives has not come down to us with certainty. Their memory is kept together on the fifteenth of June, and their names are honoured throughout the Church, especially in the lands of central Europe where their cult took deep root.
What is reliably known
According to the tradition handed down in their honour, Vitus was a boy of Sicily, brought up in the Christian faith, who together with his tutor Modestus and his nurse Crescentia confessed Christ during the persecutions of the early fourth century and gave their lives rather than deny him. The fuller accounts of their passion belong to a class of early martyr-narratives whose particulars cannot be confirmed by history, and the Church venerates them soberly for what is sure: their names, their ancient veneration as martyrs, and their constancy in the faith.
What is certain is that these three were honoured from very early times as having borne witness to Christ unto death, and that the faithful gathered to keep their memory. Their relics were carried into Germany and elsewhere, and Saint Vitus in particular came to be venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, those saints whom the faithful invoke with special confidence in time of need.
Their witness today
The feast of these holy martyrs reminds the faithful that even the young and the lowly — a child, his teacher, his nurse — may be called to the highest fidelity, and that the bonds of an ordinary household can be sanctified and crowned in the confession of Christ. The collect of their Mass asks that, by their intercession, the Church may not be proud-minded, but may grow in the humility that is pleasing to God and love freely all that is right.
The Collect
Grant unto thy Church, we beseech thee, O Lord, by the intercession of thy holy Martyrs Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia, not to be high-minded, but to advance in humility pleasing unto thee: that, despising what is evil, she may freely do, in charity, whatever things are right.
Da Ecclésiæ tuæ, quæsumus, Dómine, sanctis Mártyribus tuis Vito, Modésto atque Crescentiæ intercedentibus, supérbe non sápere, sed tibi plácita humilitáte profícere: ut, prava despíciens, quæcúmque recta sunt, líbera exérceat caritáte.
Patronage
Saint Vitus is honoured as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and is invoked against epilepsy and nervous disorders, and as a patron of dancers, actors, and comedians; the three are venerated together as patrons in Bohemia, Saxony, and Sicily.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar Saint Vitus may be observed on 15 June as an optional memorial; his companions Modestus and Crescentia are no longer named on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saints Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia?
Their feast is kept on 15 June in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Fourth Class feast.
Who were Saints Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia?
They are venerated as early martyrs — the boy Vitus, his tutor Modestus, and his nurse Crescentia — who, according to ancient tradition, gave their lives for Christ during the persecutions of the early fourth century. Little of their history can be confirmed, but their veneration is very old.
Who are the Fourteen Holy Helpers?
They are a group of saints whom the faithful, especially from the late Middle Ages, have invoked together with particular confidence for help in sickness and trouble. Saint Vitus is numbered among them, traditionally invoked for ailments of the nerves.
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