Family
Satyrus was one of three exceptionally close siblings: his elder sister Marcellina, who took religious vows under Pope Liberius around 353, and his brother Ambrose, the future Archbishop of Milan. All three came to be venerated as saints. Ambrose describes the three as inseparable in body and undivided in affection.
The family was Roman and originated at Trier (Augusta Treverorum) in Gallia Belgica. Their father held high office — variously identified as a praetorian prefect of Gaul or an official named Uranius, a name that may explain the full form 'Uranius Satyrus.' After their parents' death, Marcellina, as the eldest, took charge of raising her two younger brothers.
Service to the Church of Milan
Before his brother's episcopate, Satyrus pursued a public career: trained as an advocate at Rome, he held office and was appointed prefect over a Roman province. When Ambrose was unexpectedly made Bishop of Milan in 374, Satyrus immediately gave up his appointment to manage his brother's secular affairs.
By assuming administration of the archdiocese's worldly and temporal matters, Satyrus ensured that nothing distracted Ambrose from his episcopal duties. In Ambrose's funeral oration he is remembered for exceptional piety and faith, simplicity and modesty, chastity — he never married and preserved the gifts of baptism inviolate — together with justice, integrity, courage, and frugality.
The Shipwreck
Ambrose's oration relates that during a voyage Satyrus's ship encountered severe danger. Fearing to die without the Sacrament, he asked those he knew to be initiated Christians to give him the divine Sacrament, had it bound in a napkin tied about his neck, and cast himself into the sea, relying on faith alone for protection. According to the account, he survived and reached port safely.
Death and Funeral Orations
Satyrus had recently returned from a journey to Africa and Sicily when he fell ill and died at Milan in 378. His brother Ambrose eulogised him with the funeral sermon On the Death of a Brother (De excessu fratris Satyri), delivering a first oration at the burial and a second oration on the resurrection a week later. It is counted among the earliest of Christian panegyrics.
A note in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers text of the oration places his death on October 17, 379, though traditional sources and the commemorated date give c. 378.
Relics & Shrines
Satyrus's relics are preserved in the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. His memory is also carried by the church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro in Milan. In the Archdiocese of Milan he is honoured as the patron saint of sacristans.
