Of all the patron saints in the Roman Catholic Church, Sebastian (Saint Sebastian) of Rome is one of the best-known patron saints. Many shooting clubs are named after him. This patron saint against madness, among other things, defended his faith and had to pay for it with death. After a glittering career in the Roman legions, and later as an officer in the Praetorian Guard, it was eventually revealed that he was a Christian. From that moment on his fate was sealed. This human drama took place against the background of the regime of Emperor Diocletian at the end of the 3rd century. In addition to many positive reforms in the Roman Empire, financially and militarily, this emperor was also a notorious persecutor of Christians and he also ushered in the final period of this centuries-long witch hunt.
Contents
- Patron of Rome
- Life and Career of Sebastian of Rome (Saint Sebastian)
- Archer
- Favorite
- Emperor Diocletian – a feared Christian persecutor
- Death of Sebastian of Rome
- Catacombs of Saint Sebastian
- Apostles Peter and Paul
- Basilica Apostolorum
- Worship
- Relics
- Patronages
- Attributes and iconography
Patron of Rome
On the Via Appia in Rome, outside the old city wall, are the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian. The necropolis is named after the martyr Sebastian of Rome who was said to have been temporarily buried here after a gruesome death, next to the bodies of the apostles Peter and Paul.
Sebastian of Rome (Saint Sebastian), Thijs Collection, University of Antwerp / Source: Peter-Paul Bouché, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Peter and Paul
The veneration of Sebastian of Rome reached such proportions throughout Europe that the Vatican appointed him, together with Peter and Paul, the third patron of Rome. The patronages of Saint Sebastian are numerous. From fever to infectious diseases, strokes and leprosy. But he is also the patron saint against madness, perhaps because the time in which he lived was dominated by possession when it came to Christian persecution.
Life and Career of Sebastian of Rome (Saint Sebastian)
The name Sebastianus comes from Greek and means he who belongs to the emperor. According to legend, Sebastianus was a hunter/archer in the French forests in his youth. According to other sources, he was born in Narbonne and had always lived in Milan. His year of birth remains shrouded in mystery, his year of death was 288. His parents are said to have been Christians. As an adult he confirmed his faith. But in secret, given the persecution of Christians.
Archer
His intense interest in the martial profession was evident from an early age. As a skilled archer/hunter, the Roman army was eager to recruit him. It seems certain that he had served in various legions under Emperor Marcus Aurelius Carinus (250-285), who reigned from 283-285. It remains unclear which legions exactly they were. Perhaps due to the martial passion of Sebastian of Rome, he also became a favorite of Emperor Diocletian (244-311), who reigned from 284-305 as successor to Emperor Carinus. Diocletian appointed him a senior officer in the Preatorian Guard, an elite unit of the Roman army, which was also the personal guard of the emperor, his family and other high-ranking authorities.
Favorite
As a favorite of the emperor, Sebastian quickly made a career in the Roman army and first became a cohort leader. Despite the fact that he was loyal to Rome, according to legend, he performed miracles as a soldier and gave secret speeches about the Christian faith. Even after being appointed an officer in the Praetorian Guard, he helped Christians wherever and whenever he could. Remarkably, he was never betrayed. It also remains somewhat unclear how Sebastian of Rome was able to make this incredible career. According to the legends, he was indeed very brave, but as such he had few connections that could help him further in his career. All this time he managed to practice Christianity in complete secrecy.
Sebastian of Rome (Saint Sebastian), Rheinbay (D), Catholic branch church of Saint Sebastian, / Source: RomkeHoekstra, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-4.0)
Emperor Diocletian – a feared Christian persecutor
Emperor Gaius Aurelius Diocletian (244-311) ruled from 284 to 305. Diocletian came to the realization that the Roman Empire was now too large to rule alone. For this reason, in 286 he appointed his friend and legion commander Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius (250-310) as co-emperor, with Diocletian governing the eastern part of the Empire and Maximian the western part. Diocletian was a reformer. Also on a military level. He formed special legions to guard and protect the outer borders of the Empire. To quell domestic disturbances, relatively small and quickly deployable army units were called up. Diocletian had also made a contribution in the monetary field, including by setting a maximum price for certain goods to prevent usury.
Edict of Milan Despite his many merits, Dio Cletian was above all a notorious Christian hater. One of the bloodiest persecutions occurred under his reign in 303 after the issuance of two edicts. In 313, the Edict of Milan by Emperor Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (Constantine the Great) followed, which established by law that Roman citizens were free to practice any religion.
Death of Sebastian of Rome
The favorite of Emperor Diocletian turned out to be a Christian. The emperor was furious. His anger increased when he learned that Sebastian had consistently helped Christians escape death during his career. Diocletian immediately had him arrested and interrogated. The emperor said: ‘Ungrateful as you are, you have opposed me and my gods for years!’ Sebastian replied, ,I have always prayed for you and the Kingdom to my own God who is in heaven., Diocletian ordered him to be executed on the Campus Martius (Field of Mars). Sebastian’s own archers from the Preatorian Guard riddled him with arrows. According to another story, he was tied naked to a torture stake, after which Mauritanian archers shot arrows at him. Sebastianus was left for dead.
Catacombs of Saint Sebastian
According to a tradition, Irene, widow of martyr Castulus, had removed the arrows from his body. Then she had treated his wounds at her home. He miraculously healed while at first he looked like a pincushion, so many arrows had been shot at him by the soldiers. Nevertheless, a few days later Sebastianus stood militantly on the Campus Martius, on the temple steps of the Sun Temple Sol Invictus, to seek redress. According to another legend, it took two years for him to heal from his wounds, secretly tended by Irene. He then presented himself to the imperial court and reproached Diocletian for the many atrocities against Christians.
Sebastian of Rome (Saint Sebastian), Kaisersesch (D), Saint Pancratius Church / Source: RomkeHoekstra, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-4.0)
Apostles Peter and Paul
The emperor was very surprised that Sebastian was still alive and had him arrested again, after which he ordered him to be thrown into the Cloaca Maxima, the largest sewer in Rome that ran straight through the city and flowed into the Tiber. This time Sebastianus did not survive. The widow Irene took him out of the sewer, washed him and had him buried in the catacombs on the Via Appia, next to the apostles Peter and Paul. Later these catacombs were named after Saint Sebastian.
Basilica Apostolorum
During the reign of Constantine the Great (Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, 280-337), the Basilica Apostolorum was built above the catacombs, in honor of the two apostles, later also called the Basilica di San Sebastiano. Saint Sebastian is said to be buried in the crypt. The basilica is one of the seven most important pilgrim churches in Rome.
Worship
The name day of Sebastian of Rome is January 20, the day he died in 288. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox Church (name day December 18). Over the centuries, the veneration of Saint Sebastian has spread throughout Europe. From Italy to Spain, France and the more northern regions, including Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Patron He is the third patron of Rome, next to the apostles Peter and Paul. Sebastian is also one of the six plague saints, since the 14th century when the plague epidemic sowed death and destruction in Europe. Many children used to be given his name to ward off the plague. The arrows represented the disease shot by Apollo, and later, it was thought, by angels or by God himself. Reference was made to Psalm 91:5: You have nothing to fear from the terror of the night, nor from the arrow that flies by day.
Relics
Sebastian’s remains are located in the crypt of the Basilica di San Sebastiano. However, the skull was transferred to the Basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati (Church of the Four Crowned Martyrs). However, Ebersberg Monastery, a Benedictine abbey in Upper Bavaria, claims to hold the saint’s skull as a relic. The monastery is also an important place of pilgrimage in southern Germany. Many other places in Europe are said to contain relics of Sebastian of Rome, such as the Franciscan monastery in Hagenau, Germany. Many towns and villages, including Soissons in France, Chiemsee in Germany and Rome, have Saint Sebastian as their patron saint.
Sebastian of Rome (Saint Sebastian), Niederzissen (D), Germanus Church, / Source: RomkeHoekstra, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-4.0)
Patronages
Naturally, many shooting and archery clubs are named after Saint Sebastian. He is also the patron saint of soldiers, hunters, firefighters, stonemasons, gardeners, artists and many other professions.
Madness His intercession is also invoked in cases of (impending) madness, perhaps strongly related to the obsession with which Diocletian shaped the persecutions of Christians and Sebastian ultimately confronted him with it. His intercession also applies to, among other things, leprosy, sore throat, ulcers, diarrhea, travail, threats of war, threatening epidemics and situations in which all hope seems to have disappeared.
Attributes and iconography
Sebastian is usually depicted as a martyr, tied to a stake and riddled with arrows. But also as a legionnaire with sword ( gladius ), spear, shield or with bow and arrow, as he was originally an archer in the Roman army. Sometimes also with a palm branch in the hand (martyr symbol).
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