St. Tarsilla, Virgin (581 AD)
Full Name: St. Tarsilla / Tharsilla
Period: 6th Century (Died: December 24, 581 AD)
Feast Day: December 24
Place of Birth: Rome, Italy
Special Significance: Virgin, aunt of Pope St. Gregory the Great, model of unceasing prayer.
Family Background and Consecrated Life
Born into a Roman aristocratic family, she turned away from wealth to turn her home into a household monastery with her sister St. Emiliana.
Her nephew, St. Gregory the Great, praised her holy life in his writings.
Unceasing Prayer and Calloused Knees
She spent hours daily kneeling in prayer, leaving her knees as hard as camel skin.
Vision and Passing on Christmas Eve
A few days before her death, her ancestor Pope St. Felix appeared in a vision inviting her to heaven. She died peacefully on Christmas Eve, December 24, 581 AD.
Spiritual Lesson
Purifying the soul in prayer and penance amidst worldly distractions to remain watchful for the Lord's coming is the lesson taught by St. Tarsilla.