Saints Trasilla and Emiliana were aunts of St. Gregory the Great. They are venerated as virgin saints of the sixth century. They appear in Roman Martyrology.
They both were sisters and came from an ancient Roman noble family, the gens Anicia. Their brother, Senator Gordian, was a very rich patrician.
Gregory relates that his father, Senator Gordian, had three sisters: Trasilla, Emiliana, and Gordiana. All three had devoted themselves to religious life and led a life of virginity, fasting, and prayer. They practiced their faith in their father’s house located on the Clivus Scauri in Rome. Gordiana, later abandoned this calling and is thus not venerated as a saint.
Tradition states that St. Felix III, an ancestor, appeared to Trasilla and bade her enter Heaven, and on the eve of Christmas Trasilla died, seeing Jesus Christ beckoning. The legend also states that Trasilla a few days later appeared to Emiliana, inviting her to celebrate Epiphany in heaven.
Tradition says that their relics and those of their sister-in-law, St. Silvia, are in the Oratory of St. Andrew on the Celian Hill.