January 20 · Catholic · traditional calendar
Sebastian
Sebastian is remembered as a Roman soldier and Christian martyr. In the traditional account he survived an execution attempt by arrows, continued to profess Christ, and was later killed by beating; describing this as being martyred twice was inaccurate.
- Patronage
- soldiers, athletes, people affected by plague
- Era
- 3rd century
The traditional account
Pope Francis summarized the tradition in Christus vivit: Sebastian was a young captain of the Praetorian Guard who spoke about Christ, refused to renounce his faith, survived being shot with arrows, and continued his witness. He was then flogged to death.
One martyrdom, two attacks
Martyrdom refers to his death for the faith. Sebastian therefore was not 'martyred twice,' as the imported summary claimed. Christian art often focuses on the arrows, but the traditional narrative says that episode did not kill him. The distinction keeps devotional language aligned with the story being cited.
Sources and references
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