St Paractalis or Barattalis

(9th October)

There are two saints of this name who are confused in the local traditions:

  • One was martyred in Spoleto  in the reign of the Emperor Diocletian (284-305).  He was buried near to the grave of St Gregory of Spoleto in the Christian cemetery outside the city walls, near a bridge called "Sanguinarius".  This is almost certainly a reference to the Christian cemetery on the site of San Gregorio Maggiore.

  • One was among the Syrians who fled to Rome to escape the persecution of the Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-3) and settled in Spoleto with St Brictius.
According to an inscription in San Gregorio Maggiore, the church was consecrated as "Sanctorum Martirum  Gregorii et Paractalis" in 1146.