[1][2] He has for long been tied to the Sicilian martyrs Modestus and Crescentia but in the earliest sources it is clear that these were originally different traditions that later became combined.

The same Martyrologium has under the same day another mention of a Vitus at the head of a list of nine martyrs, with the statement of the place, in Eboli, "In Lucania", that is, in the Roman province of that name in southern Italy between the Tuscan Sea and the Gulf of Taranto.

According to J. P. Kirsch,[5] the testimony to the public veneration of the three saints in the fifth century proves that they are historical martyrs.

Three days later, Vitus appeared to a distinguished matron named Florentia, who then found the bodies and buried them where they lay.

The veneration of the martyrs spread rapidly in Southern Italy and Sicily, as is shown by the note in the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum".

From Corvey the veneration of St Vitus spread throughout Westphalia and in the districts of eastern and northern Germany.

Other relics of Saint Vitus were taken in Pavia (they were kept in the church of San Marino) by the emperor Charles IV in 1355 and were brought to Prague.

[6] The veneration of St. Vitus became very popular in Slavic lands, where his name (Sveti Vid) may have replaced more ancient worship of the god of light Svetovid.

In Bulgaria, it is called Vidovden (Видовден) or Vidov Den (Видов ден) and is particularly well known among the Shopi, in the western part of the country.

Vitus is still recognized as a saint of the Catholic Church, being included in the Roman Martyrology under 15 June,[11] and Mass may be celebrated in his honor on that day wherever the Roman Rite is celebrated,[12] while Modestus and Crescentia, who are associated with Vitus in legend, have been omitted, because they appear to be merely fictitious personages.

Michael J. Towsend writes that "the phrase 'The patron saint of Methodism is St Vitus' summed up with reasonable accuracy many people's impressions of the Methodist Church.

Methodists, surely, are supremely busy people, always rushing around organizing things and setting up committees to do good works.

They can generally be relied upon to play their part in running Christian Aid Week, the sponsored walk for the local hospice or the group protesting about homelessness, and they are known, even now, to be activists in trades unions and political parties.