Friday of the Second Week of Lent at St Vitalis

We begin our visit to this church not here but in England, in one of the dungeon chambers of the Tower of London.  There, in 1535, sat the bishop of Rochester, imprisoned for his refusal to sign the oath which would affirm Henry VIII as the supreme head on earth of the church in England.  Pope Clement VII, hoping to save the faithful bishop, elevated him to the honor of cardinal and assigned him this church as his title.  Upon hearing of this, the king declared that, rather than send the red hat to England as was the custom at the time, he would send the bishop’s head to Rome.  And so did St. John Fisher bear witness with his life to the truth, as did the saints here commemorated.

The patron of this church, St. Vitalis, himself bore heroic witness with his life during the Roman persecutions.  There are several histories about his martyrdom, which seem to place the date of his suffering in the early second century.  He seems to have been of some social standing, and would encourage those about to die for the faith.  As a result, he himself was tortured on the rack and then killed in the area of Ravenna.  Traditionally he is believed to be the husband of St. Valeria and the father of Ss. Gervasius and Protasius, all of whom were also martyred.

Collect

O God, who have taught us 

to chasten our bodies for the healing of our souls, 

enable us, we pray, to abstain from all sins, 

and strengthen our hearts to carry out your loving commands. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

one God, for ever and ever.