St Sebastian was a martyr in the third century under Diocletian. He boldly proclaimed the Catholic Faith even in the face of certain execution.
Read the full St Sebastian novena on the novena page. You can also learn more about novenas here.
Who Was Saint Sebastian?
St Sebastian joined the Roman army in 283 AD and through his virtuous service was promoted to the Praetorian Guard of Diocletian.
Marcus and Marcellian were twin brothers, both deacons in the Church, and they refused to make the public sacrifices demanded by the Romans.
They were imprisoned but refused to apostatize. Even their parents tried to convince them to renounce their Catholic faith, but St Sebastian interceded and ended up leading the parents to Christianity.
Through St Sebastian’s evangelism, the Romans discovered he was a Catholic, and the vicious Emperor Diocletian ordered Sebastian’s execution.
Archers shot him full of arrows, and he was left for dead. But a woman named Irene found he was still alive and brought him back to health.
St Sebastian boldly went to Diocletian and rebuked him for his murder of Catholics. Diocletian responded by ordering his execution a second time.
Sebastian was beaten to death with clubs and thrown into the sewer. The year was 288 AD.
Lucina, a Catholic woman, found his body and buried him in the catacombs under Rome.
St Sebastian is the patron saint of soldiers, athletes, and those who desire a holy death.