ST VITALIS OF SALZBURG, BISHOP - 20 OCTOBER

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER

Saints celebrated on the 20th of October

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST VITALIS OF SALZBURG, BISHOP

Saint Vitalis is called the apostle of the Pinzgau and was the first successor of St Rupertus as abbot of the Benedictine monastery of St Peter and the diocese of Salzburg. 

His origins and his fatherland are undetermined. Many consider him a Scottish or Irishman of royal blood. It is also uncertain at what date he entered field of work of St Rupertus, whether he was one of the first to leave Worms with him, or whether he was later called from there to Salzburg. 

But that he was indeed St Rupertus' successor is undisputed, and his impeccable conduct and great zeal for souls are beyond doubt.

It is known about him, writes the abbot Amandus in his biography, that he was an exceedingly gentle and loving gentleman, generous towards the poor, heartfelt compassionate towards the afflicted, of virginal humility, untiring in the conversion of the unbelievers and sinners and that God gave him the gift of healing the sick, the blind, the lame, and the possessed. 

According to tradition, his administration lasted 23 years and was particularly focussed on the Pinzgau, between the Tyrolean Alps and the Zellersee. The year of his death is unknown; Amandus states the date as 642, while others specify 8th century dates, namely A.D. 716 and A.D. 730. The Neobollandists consider the latter year to be the most probable. 

Soon the legend arose that a lily had grown out of his grave on the south side of St Peter's Church to proclaim the purity of his heart and the lovely fragrance of his godly life. The tomb was surrounded early on with an iron grating, inside which a lamp burned. Numerous votive gifts testified to the miracles that happened to the sick and innocent prisoners at his intercession. His canonisation was already decided by Pope Pius II in 1462.

Eventually, St Vitalis was canonised by Leo X in 1519. At the same time the Pontiff allowed for the monastery of St Peter to celebrate a special Office in his honour. 

By order of the Archbishop Paris of Lodron in 1627, his relics were raised and an altar was erected for his veneration. A year later, Pope Urban VIII extended his celebration to the entire diocese. On holy pictures St Vitalis carries a lily in his hand, or one sprouts from his heart; he is surrounded by the poor, the sick and the cripples who call on his help. 

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858 - 📷 By Martin Häusle)