St. Vitus, an early Christian boy martyr venerated since at least the fifth century, is the patron saint of dancers, as well as of actors, comedians and people with epilepsy. In the late Middle Ages crowds danced before his images on his feast day, believing he would grant a year of good health, and the nervous disorder once called “St. Vitus dance” still bears his name. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and the great cathedral of Prague is dedicated to him. His feast day is June 15. Below are his story, why he is the patron of dancers, a prayer to St. Vitus for dancers, and his feast.
A short prayer to St. Vitus, written for this page:
St. Vitus, you gave your young life joyfully for Christ.
Pray for all dancers, that their art may give glory to God,
keep them safe from injury, and help them to use their gifts with humility and joy.
St. Vitus, pray for us. Amen.
Who was St. Vitus?
Vitus was martyred in southern Italy, probably in the persecution of the emperor Diocletian around 303, with St. Modestus, his tutor, and St. Crescentia, his nurse. Their names already appear together in the fifth-century Martyrology of St. Jerome, which proves that they were real, historical martyrs, though no reliable account of their deaths survives.
A later legend fills in the story. Vitus was the son of a pagan senator in Sicily who became a Christian as a boy of seven or twelve. When his father tried to force him to give up his faith, he fled by boat with Modestus and Crescentia to Lucania. Taken to Rome, he freed the emperor’s son from a demon, yet was tortured for refusing to sacrifice to the gods: he was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil and came out unharmed. The three martyrs died of their sufferings and were buried in Lucania.
His veneration spread quickly. In 836 his relics were brought to the abbey of Corvey in Germany, and from there devotion to St. Vitus (Sankt Veit) spread through Germany, Bohemia and Central Europe. St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle, begun in 1344, holds part of his relics.
Why is St. Vitus the patron saint of dancers?
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, people in Germany and the Low Countries gathered before statues of St. Vitus on his feast and danced, hoping to receive good health for the year. During the strange “dancing plagues” of the period, when crowds danced uncontrollably for days, the afflicted were taken to his shrines to pray for healing. The involuntary jerking movements of a childhood nervous disorder, now called Sydenham’s chorea, came to be known as “St. Vitus dance,” and he became the protector of those with epilepsy and similar conditions.
From these customs St. Vitus came to be honored as the patron of dancers, and of actors, comedians and entertainers. He is also invoked against oversleeping, against storms, and by those bitten by animals.
Scripture reminds us that there is a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:4):
A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
Prayers for dancers
Written for this page.
A dancer’s prayer before a performance
Lord, you gave me this body and the gift of movement.
Through the prayers of St. Vitus, keep me safe from injury,
calm my nerves, and let my dancing give joy to others and glory to you.
Whatever happens on stage, let me remember that I dance for you. Amen.
For a dancer who is injured
St. Vitus, pray for me as I heal.
Give me patience with my body, wisdom for my doctors and therapists,
and the hope that I will dance again. Amen.
For people with epilepsy and movement disorders
St. Vitus, faithful martyr, pray for all who live with epilepsy and seizures.
Protect them from injury, give their families courage,
and guide those who research and treat these conditions. Amen.
Feast day
The feast of Sts. Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia is June 15. It was kept throughout the Church for centuries. Since the calendar reform of 1969 it is no longer on the general calendar, but the three martyrs remain in the Roman Martyrology and St. Vitus is still widely honored in Germany, the Czech Republic and Sicily. The collect of their feast in the 1916 daily missal:
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord, through the intercession of thy holy Martyrs Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia, that thy Church may not be proud-minded, but please thee by growing in humility, so that averse to what is wrong she may with love unbounded do what is right. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God world without end. Amen.
St. Vitus is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, a group of saints invoked together in times of trouble since the plague years of the fourteenth century.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the patron saint of dancers?
St. Vitus, an early martyr whose feast is June 15.
Who is the patron saint of dance?
St. Vitus. Some dancers also take St. Genesius, patron of actors and performers.
What is St. Vitus dance?
An old name for Sydenham’s chorea, a disorder that causes jerky, involuntary movements, usually after a strep infection in childhood. It was named after St. Vitus because people prayed to him for healing from it.
More patron saints
- St. Genesius, patron of actors and comedians
- Patron saints of sports and hobbies
- St. Cecilia, patron of music
- Patron saints of healing
- Unusual patron saints
- Saint feast days
Texts and sources
- Ecclesiastes 3:4 (Douay-Rheims).
- The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916), Sts. Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia (June 15), Collect.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Sts. Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia,” by J. P. Kirsch, public domain (Wikisource).