Story
In the year 393 A.D., Eusebius, bishop of Bologna, made known the bodies of two Christian martyrs, Vitalis and Agricola, buried in the Jewish cemeteries of the city.
Their relics were translated from that place, and Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan, was present at this occasion, and he referred to them in his treatise on virginity.
It is said that Agricola was a wealthy man who dwelt in Bologna, and he was greatly beloved on account of his gentleness and meekness. By his love this rich man was able to win his slave Vitalis to the faith, and Vitalis became a partner with him in the crown of martyrdom.
The two were brought to trial, and they sustained one another, not as a master with his slave, but as a brother with his brother in love. When the governor wished to crush the spirit of Agricola, knowing his love for the slave, he brought the slave into the arena of martyrdom before his master and made him taste many torments, until there was no place left in his body without wounds; and the master sustained and encouraged him, regarding him as a living example for himself, until he gave up his spirit.
Agricola was brought to martyrdom, and he was hung upon a cross, and they tore his body with many nails in various places of his body; so he followed his brother "the slave" into paradise, the two of them rejoicing in an eternal brotherhood, in a glory unspeakable, awaiting the great day of the Lord.
It is a living image of the Christian life, which shattered the system of bondage and slavery—not by revolts or laws, but by the spirit of deep love, in which every person feels himself to be a member of his brother! The master sustained his slave by his love and his faith and so drew him to salvation, and the slave sustained his master by his endurance of suffering with patience, indeed with joy.
And he is commemorated on the 4th of November