 On his deathbed, Ambrose supported Simplician as his own successor, stating that Simplician was ""old but good"".Thus in April 397, the aged Simplician was elected bishop of Milan, at that time capital of the Western Roman Empire.The most important act of his episcopate was the receipt in Milan of the relics of the three martyrs Sisinnius, Martyrius and Alexander, sent from Trento by the bishop Vigilius.