Saint Sebastian

• Little is known about his early life, but it is widely believed that Saint Sebastian was born in Southern France, AD 255, and was educated in Milan. Sebastian joined the Roman army in 283 to support of his Christian brethren, who were still being persecuted by the Roman government. He was soon distinguished for his service, and was promoted to the Praetorian Guard of Emperor Diocletian.

• According to Church tradition, Marcus and Marcellian -- twin brothers who were both deacons in the Church -- were imprisoned when they refused to make public sacrifice to the Roman gods. While imprisoned, the twin brothers were visited by their parents, who tried to persuade them to renounce their faith. However, Sebastian intervened and converted them to Christianity. He also converted other important local figures and authorities to the faith.

• Because of this, in AD 286, Emperor Diocletian discovered that Sebastian was a Christian, and, after reproaching Sebastian for his betrayal, he condemned him to die.He was to be led to a field, tied to a tree, and made a target for his archers. He was shot full of arrows and left for dead. Miraculously, Sebastian survived. A Christian woman named Irene of Rome brought him to her house and nursed him back to health.

• When he regained his health, Sebastian caught Emperor Diocletian in a stairway and publicly confronted him. He criticized him for his cruelty and persecution against Christians. Although surprised that Sebastian was still alive, Diocletian was furious. He ordered his men to beat Sebastian to death with clubs and throw his body into the sewers. After his death, a holy woman named Lucina recovered his body and secretly buried him in the catacombs beneath Rome.

• 80 years after Sebastian's death in 288, Pope Damasus I canonized St. Sebastian as a martyr and saint in the Catholic Church, and moved his remains to a Basilica in Rome. Different parts of his body became relics and were shared with communities of monks in France and Germany.

• During the Middle Ages he was invoked as a protector against plague. According to historical records, he defended the city of Rome against a plague in 680 AD. According to Greco-Roman myth, Apollo the archer god was known to inflict pestilence upon people by shooting them with black arrows. Subsequently, Sebastian's miraculous healing from arrows Christianizes this mythologic association.

• Sebastian is memorialized in numerous pieces of art and literature spanning centuries. he is the patron saint of numerous cities and colleges around the world, and numerous organizations and communities are named after him. He is also the patron saint of soldiers, athletes, archers, and those who desire a saintly death.

Saint Sebastian, Pray for Us!