Vigilius was born around 353. His mother Maxentia and his brothers Claudian and Magorian are also counted among the saints. As a boy he came with his parents to Trent, and he studied at Athens, where he became known for holiness and learning and seems to have befriended St John Chrysostom. In 380 he returned from Rome to Trent, and the people chose him as their bishop by acclamation. St Ambrose showed a fatherly care for him and urged him to oppose marriages with pagans.

He worked hard to convert the Arians (followers of Arius's teaching that the Son is a created being, not fully God) of Trent and the many idol-worshippers of his diocese. He also preached around Brescia and Verona and set up some thirty parishes there, putting his missionary companions in charge of them. Among these were Sts Sisinnius, Martyrius and Alexander from Cappadocia, who were martyred after a short apostolate, and Vigilius wrote an account of their martyrdom.

With his brothers and a priest named Julian he then went west of Trent into the Rendena Valley to preach to the worshippers of Saturn. There he offered Mass and threw the statue of Saturn into the River Sarca, and the enraged pagans stoned him to death on 26 June 405. His body was brought back to Trent and buried in the church he had built. Benedict XIV called him the first martyr canonized (officially declared a saint by the pope) by a pope. He is the patron of Trent and the Tyrol.

Thin entry · the 1897 book gives only 26 words. We have not filled the gap with invented detail.

…venerated, and in their rage, the idolaters stoned him to death. His body was removed to Trent, and in the 15th century was translated to Milan.

Bishop of Trent, martyr, patron of Trent and of Tyrol, b. c. 353; d. 26 June, 405; feast 26 June. The name of his father was not known (Acta SS., June, VII, 143), though given by some as Theodosius [name of Roman emperors; Theodosius I (379–395) made Christianity the state religion]. His mother Maxentia (Acta SS., Apr., III, 781) and his brothers Claudian (Acta SS., March, I, 426) and Magorian (Acta SS., March, II, 398) are numbered among the saints. At an early age he came with his parents to Trent (possibly he was born there), and pursued his studies at Athens, becoming noted for his sanctity and learning; here he seems to have formed a friendship with St. John Chrysostom. He went to Rome and thence in 380 returned to Trent, where the people by acclamation chose him their bishop. He was consecrated by Valerian [Roman emperor 253–260, who persecuted bishops and clergy], Bishop of Aquileia, or possibly by St. Ambrose of Milan who donated the episcopal insignia and showed a paternal solicitude for Vigilius; he urged him (Ep. 29 in P.L., XVI, 982) to strongly oppose marriages with heathens. Vigilius laboured strenuously to convert the Arians [followers of Arius, who taught that the Son is a created being, not fully God] in the city of Trent and the many idolaters throughout the diocese. He preached the Gospel in the districts of Brescia and Verona, beyond the confines of his diocese, and there erected some thirty parishes placing his missionary companions as pastors and bishops. Among these were Sts. Sisinnius, Martyrius, and Alexander (Acta SS., May, VII, 37), natives of Cappadocia [a region of central Turkey], whom Vigilius had brought from Milan, and who after a short apostolate were martyred; parts of the relics [the bodily remains of a saint, or objects they used, kept with honor] were sent to Milan and others to Constantinople.

Accompanied by his brothers and a priest named Julian, Vigilius then went west of Trent to the Rendena Valley to teach the Gospel to the worshippers of Saturn. At a place, which is now the parish of Rendena, he offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and threw the statue of Saturn into the River Sarka. Enraged at this the idolaters stoned him to death. The body was brought back to Trent and buried in the church built by Vigilius. The acts of his life and martyrdom were immediately sent to Rome. Innocent I gave them to the Emperor Honorius as a protection on one of his military expeditions. He seems to have made a formal canonization, for Benedict XIV ("De canonizat. SS.", Prato, 1839, I, ch. iv, no. 12) calls Vigilius the first martyr canonized by a pope. Eugippius, the successor of Vigilius in the See of Trent, enlarged the cathedral and dedicated it to St. Vigilius. In 1386 the right hand was separated from the body and put into a precious reliquary. Many churches in Tyrol bear the name of the saint. He is the author of the work, "De Martyrio SS. Sisinnii, Martyrii et Alexandri", in P.L., XIII, 549.

BARDENHEWER, Patrology, tr. SHAHAN (St. Louis, 1908), 444; KRÖSS, Austria Sancta, I (Vienna, 1910), 8.