Roman Catholic Saint. He is remembered as a martyr for the Christian faith and that his body has not decayed in the almost 1700 years since his death. He is considered the oldest incorrupted corpse. His body is in a glass coffin at St. Blaise Church. Nothing about St Silvan is known except that he was tortured and killed for his faith in the early part of the 4th Century. A sliced gash is noted on his neck, which may be the cause of his death. He is dressed in a white robe with a red cross on the front, which leads one to think he was a member of the clergy. It does appear that wax was used to highlight his face. There are 2 or 3 St. Silvan listed on the Roman Catholic list of saints, but by elimination, only this one fits the cause of death of the saint that died in the 4th Century. Some believe that this may be Silas, the Christian who traveled with Paul the Apostle on parts of his first and second missionary journeys. Although St. Blaise was built in 1800, and that Gaetano Gresiler may have brought to St. Blaise this saint's body along with others on July 23, 1818, there is nothing known about where this body was located prior to that time or where he died.
Roman Catholic Saint. He is remembered as a martyr for the Christian faith and that his body has not decayed in the almost 1700 years since his death. He is considered the oldest incorrupted corpse. His body is in a glass coffin at St. Blaise Church. Nothing about St Silvan is known except that he was tortured and killed for his faith in the early part of the 4th Century. A sliced gash is noted on his neck, which may be the cause of his death. He is dressed in a white robe with a red cross on the front, which leads one to think he was a member of the clergy. It does appear that wax was used to highlight his face. There are 2 or 3 St. Silvan listed on the Roman Catholic list of saints, but by elimination, only this one fits the cause of death of the saint that died in the 4th Century. Some believe that this may be Silas, the Christian who traveled with Paul the Apostle on parts of his first and second missionary journeys. Although St. Blaise was built in 1800, and that Gaetano Gresiler may have brought to St. Blaise this saint's body along with others on July 23, 1818, there is nothing known about where this body was located prior to that time or where he died.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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