TARSILLA, Saint. — Aunt of St. Gregory the Great, to whom we owe the few known details about her. She is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on 24 December.
Having consecrated herself to God together with her sisters Emiliana (q.v.) and Gordiana, she lived in continual penance and prayer, to the point of bearing the marks of this on her knees and elbows. Shortly before her death, Pope Felix III, a relative of hers, appeared to her and foretold her imminent end, which occurred shortly before Christmas, accompanied by supernatural signs. A few days later, Tarsilla appeared to her sister Emiliana, announcing that they would celebrate the feasts of Epiphany together; soon afterward, Emiliana also died.
Bibl.: St. Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Evang., II, 38; PL 77, 348; id., Dialogues, IV, 16; Martyrologium Romanum, p. 360.