death_date birth_place feast_day imagesize venerated_in patronage birth_date article_title name
~ 592 ad rome or sicily 3 november × 250px roman catholic church invoked by pregnant women for a safe delivery ~ 515 ad saint silvia
 saint silvia
saint silvia

saint silvia -lrb- sylvia -rrb- -lrb- c. 515 -- c. 592 -rrb- was the mother of st. gregory the great ; she had another son but his name did not survive through the ages .
she is also venerated as a saint by the catholic church .
two of her relatives , sisters-in-law trasilla and emiliana , are also venerated as saints , as well as her other sister-in-law gordiana , and her husband gordianus .
little biographical information about her exists .
her native place is sometimes given as sicily , sometimes as rome .
apparently she was of as distinguished family as her husband , the roman `` regionarius '' , gordianus .
she had , besides gregory , a second son .
silvia was noted for her great piety , and she gave her sons an excellent education .
after the death of her husband she devoted herself entirely to religion in the `` new cell by the gate of blessed paul '' -lrb- `` cella nova juxta portam beati pauli '' -rrb- .
gregory the great had a mosaic portrait of his parents executed at the monastery of st. andrew ; it is minutely described by johannes diaconus -lrb- `` p.l. , '' lxxv , 229-30 -rrb- .
silvia was portrayed sitting with the face , in which the wrinkles of age could not hide the beauty , in full view ; the eyes were large and blue , and the expression was gracious and animated .
