Saint Sebastian, martyr
A soldier in Diocletian’s Praetorian Guard, he survived the arrows and died in Rome rather than renounce his faith. His feast day is 20 January.
On 20 January the Church remembers the day Saint Sebastian gave his life for his faith in Jesus Christ. The son of a Gallic nobleman, he was born around the year 256 in Narbonne and grew up in Milan, his mother’s city.
He joined the Roman army and soon stood out as an exceptional soldier for his loyalty, courage and intelligence. The emperor Diocletian, who did not know he was a Christian, made him commander of the first cohort of the Praetorian Guard.
Sebastian carried out his military duties diligently but refused to take part in pagan rites. He spent his time strengthening the faith of Christians and visiting and helping those imprisoned for believing in Christ. His conduct did not go unnoticed: the emperor Maximian demanded that he renounce his faith on pain of death, and Sebastian declared himself a Christian without hesitation.
Maximian ordered him to be shot with arrows. He was left for dead, but his friends rescued him and a Christian noblewoman called Irene nursed him back to health. Although he was advised to flee, he chose to stay in Rome and appear before Diocletian to urge him to give up paganism.
The bewildered emperor had him executed again, this time by beating. His body was thrown into a sewer, but the faithful recovered it and buried it with honour on the Appian Way, in the catacomb that now bears his name. He died around the year 288.
Patron of the parish
His feast is celebrated every 20 January. He is venerated as a protector against plague and the enemies of the faith, and he has been one of the most frequently depicted saints in the history of art: the parish’s main altarpiece holds a replica of the Saint Sebastian that Alonso Berruguete carved for the convent of San Benito in Valladolid.