Saint Sebastian Research Paper

Alec E. 7A Saint Sebastian

Saint Sebastian was born in Narbonne France,but his birth date is still unknown.As a young child Saint Sebastian studied and went to school in Milan. He was the son of a wealthy family. Not much of his childhood is known but as he got older we got to know more about his life. Saint Sebastian was an undercover Christian for most of his life. He was born into the nobility and joined the Roman Imperial army to keep his cover as a typical noble pagan so that he could minister to persecuted Christians. He served for Emperor Diocletian. He moved through the ranks of the army and quickly became a captain of the guard and an imperial officer. Saint Sebastian spent much of his time encouraging and converting countless

The soldiers tied him up to a wooden post in the training grounds and used him as target practice. When they finished shooting him with arrows the guards left him there on the ground so he could later be buried. One of the soldiers said that after they had finished shooting him he looked like a porcupine from all the arrows that were shot into his body. The soldiers never picked up his body to bury him. Irene of Rome found Saint Sebastian and secretly hid him as she nursed him back to health.Her husband was also a martyr. Once Saint Sebastian was at full health he presented himself to Diocletian. Saint Sebastian found Diocletian by a staircase and he scolded him loudly in public about his sins and persecution of christians. Diocletian didn’t believe that he was a live, but he still wanted him dead no matter the circumstances. So Diocletian condemned him to death by beating. His body was thrown in a sewer and was found by a woman named Lucina. Lucina previously had a dream that Saint Sebastian told her to bury his remains near the catacombs. She secretly buried his remains. His relics are believed to be in the Basilica of San Sebastiano in the appian way, to which many pilgrims

Saint Sebastian is the patron saint of many things, like archers, athletes, soldiers, and Holy death. Saint Sebastian's death date is January 20th, 287 A.D. Saint sebastian was also a martyr. Many people also pray to him for protection against plagues. According to historical records, he defended the city of Rome against the plague in 680 A.D. His association with the plague could be because he survived being shot full of arrows and in pagan belief, pestilence was delivered by arrows shot by the gods above. Even Christian Romans would appreciate this symbolism. That symbolism is even captured in artwork as late as the Renaissance, where artists painted plague victims with black arrows in their body.Nearly 80 years after his death, around 367 A.D., his remains were moved to a basilica in Rome, built by Pope Damasus I. His body, or at least some relics from his body were reportedly removed and shared with a community of monks in France. His cranium was sent to a German monastery where it was placed in a special silver case in 934 A.D.. The relic remains in its case today in a special reliquary in Ebersberg. The navy had a patrol ship named USS Saint Sebastian in