St. Vitus

 Happy Feast Day!  Welcome to another November month of Saints.

When I was in Europe this Spring, I had the pleasure of visiting St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. The next day, I visited another church dedicated to St. Vitus in Cesky Krumlov. When I showed my pictures to my Dad, he wanted to know more about this Saint who seems to be very popular in The Czech Republic. 

St. Vitus (also known as Guy or Guido) was a martyr from Sicily. Other than that, there is nothing concrete known about his life. The dates of his actual life are not even known, although he is believed to have lived in the third century. Unreliable legend says that Vitus, the son of a Senator, became a Christian at the age of 12. He resisted his father's attempts to make him turn from his faith and fled with his tutor. He eventually ended up in Rome, where he successfully exorcised an evil spirit from Emperor Diocletian's son. However, because he remained faithful to his Christian faith, he and his tutor were tortured and subsequently died from the effects of the torture. 

So much for the legend. The fact is the cult of St. Vitus goes back to the fifth century. A great devotion to St. Vitus developed in Germany when his relics were translated there in 836. He is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers that have been venerated in the Western Church since the 14th century. These Saints were called upon for their intercession which was believed to be particularly effective, especially against certain diseases. 

St. Vitus became associated with dance allegedly because, in Germany, his feast was celebrated with dancing before his statue. Due to this, his special intercession is invoked against epilepsy and the neurological disorder Sydenham's chorea - more commonly known as "St. Vitus' Dance" He is also a patron of actors, dancers, comedians, against storms - and many places in Europe. But what really made me want to share about St. Vitus is that he is also the patron of oversleeping. How fun is that! I just love being Catholic - in what other faith do we have someone we can pray to for intercession when we've hit the snooze button one too many times? St. Vitus, pray for us!

St. Vitus' Feast Day is June 15.