VITALE and AGRICOLA, saints, martyrs. — They were respectively servant and master and were martyred for the Christian name at Bologna around 304, during the persecution of Diocletian.
The servant went first; in the judge’s intention, his torments were supposed to frighten the master and induce him to adopt wiser counsel. On the contrary, V.’s steadfastness confirmed A. in the faith and disposed him to endure the martyrdom of the cross. Their bodies were buried in the cemetery of the Jews, where they were discovered by St. Ambrose in 393. The translation of their relics to Florence and Ireve contributed to spreading their cult. Their feast is celebrated on 4 November.
BIBL.: Acta SS. Novembris, II, 1, Bruxelles 1894, pp. 233-53; H. Delahaye, L'hagiographie ancienne de Ravenne, in Anal. Boll., 47 (1928), pp. 7-10, 19 and following; id., Les origines du culte des martyrs, 2nd ed., Bruxelles 1933, p. 328 and following; Martyr. Hieronymianum, pp. 584 and following, 623 and following; Martyr. Romanum, p. 496. Francesco Russo