Saint Genesius & Saint Vitus, patron saints of actors

Here's a great site on all things saint-worthy: disappointing children, against procrastination, apple orchards, fireworks manufacturers, for enlightenment, herpes, tinsmiths, test-takers.

I'll start with Saint Genesius of Rome.


Saint Genesius medal


Saint Genesius

Also known as: Gelasinus; Gelasius
Memorial feast day: 25 August
Profile: An Actor hired to work in a play that made fun of Christian Baptism. In the middle of the performance he suddenly received a word from God, suddenly realized the truth of Christianity, and converted on stage. He refused to renounce his new faith, even at the emperor's orders, and was martyred by order of emperor Diocletian.
Died: beheaded c.303 at Rome
Patronage: actors, attorneys, barristers, clowns, comedians, comediennes, comics, converts, dancers, epilepsy, epileptics, lawyers, musicians, printers, stenographers, torture victims
Prayer to Saint Genesius:

Dear Genesius, according to a very ancient story, when you were still a pagan, you once ridiculed Christ while acting on the stage. But, like Saul on the road to Damascus, you were floored by Christ's powerful grace. You rose bearing witness to Jesus and died a great martyr's death. Intercede for your fellow actors before God that they may faithfully and honestly perform their roles and so help others to understand their role in life and thus enabling them to attain their end in heaven. Amen.

Now on to Saint Vitus, the other patron saint of actors, particularly the kinds of acting that involve jumping around, like comedians. He sounds cooler than Genesius. I mean, just check out his nicknames.


Saint Vitus

Also known as: Guy; Vito
Memorial feast day: 15 June
Profile: Legend says Vitus was the son of a pagan Sicilian senator named Hylas. Converted to Christianity at age twelve by his tutor Saint Modestus and his nurse Saint Crescentia. His father showed his objection by having the three arrested and scourged.
Freed from prison by angels, they fled to Lucania, then Rome. There he freed Emperor Diocletian's son of an evil spirit. When Vitus would not sacrifice to the pagan gods in celebration, his cure was attributed to sorcery, and he and his household were arrested again. Tortured, and condemned to death, they were thrown to the lions; the lions would not touch them, so they were thrown into boiling oil At the moment of their deaths, a immense storm destroyed several pagan temples in the region, hence the protection against stormy weather. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.
For obscure reasons, some 16th century Germans believed they could obtain a year's good health by dancing before the statue of Saint Vitus on his feast day. This dancing developed almost into a mania, and was confused with chorea, the nervous condition later known as Saint Vitus' Dance, the saint being invoked against it. His connection with such "dancing" led to his patronage of dancers, and later to entertainers in general and in particular.
A rooster was thrown into the oil with him, sacrificed as part of the ritual against sorcery. A rooster became a symbol for Vitus, and its connection with early rising led to Vitus's patronage and protection against oversleeping.
Died: boiled in oil c.303 in Lucania, Italy
Patronage : actors, against animal attacks, against dog bites, against lightning, against oversleeping, against storms, against wild beasts, comedians, comediennes, Czechoslovakia, dancers, dog bites, dogs, epilepsy, epileptics, Forio, Italy, lightning, oversleeping, Prague, Czech Republic, rheumatic chorea, Saint Vitus Dance, snake bites, storms
Representation: rooster
Prayer to Saint Vitus:

Dear Vitus, the one thing we are certain about is that you died a martyr's death. In early times, churches were dedicated to you in important places. In the Middle Ages, your intercession obtained cures from epilepsy so that this disease came to be called "Saint Vitus' Dance". Inspire comedians to make people dance with laughter and so bear goodwill toward one another. Amen.