33 Facts About Saint Sebastian

Saint Sebastian was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him.

Saint Sebastian was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome, which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting.

Saint Sebastian is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church as the patron saint of athletics, archery, and plagues.

Saint Sebastian is mentioned in a sermon on Psalm 118 by 4th-century bishop Ambrose of Milan: in his sermon, Ambrose stated that Sebastian came from Milan and that he was already venerated there at that time.

In 283, Saint Sebastian entered the army in Rome under Emperor Carinus to assist the martyrs.

Saint Sebastian succeeded in converting Tranquillinus and Martia, as well as Tiburtius, the son of Chromatius, the local prefect.

Saint Sebastian had prudently concealed his faith, but in 286 it was detected.

Saint Sebastian brought him back to her house and nursed him back to health.

Saint Sebastian later stood by a staircase where the emperor was to pass and harangued Diocletian for his cruelties against Christians.

Saint Sebastian's cranium was brought to the town of Ebersberg in 934.

The belief that Saint Sebastian was a defense against the plague was a medieval addition to his reputation, which largely accounts for the enormous increase in his importance in the Late Middle Ages.

However, the hopeful example of Saint Sebastian being able to recover from his "first martyrdom" was relevant as the arrow-wounds can resemble the buboes that were symptoms of bubonic plague.

The earliest known representation of Saint Sebastian is a mosaic in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo dated between 527 and 565.

Saint Sebastian was among the most frequently depicted of all saints by Late Gothic and Renaissance artists, in the period after the Black Death.

Saint Sebastian's shooting with arrows was the subject of the largest engraving by the Master of the Playing Cards in the 1430s, when there were few other current subjects with male nudes other than Christ.

Saint Sebastian appears in many other prints and paintings, although this was due to his popularity with the faithful.

Saint Sebastian's death was depicted in the 1949 film Fabiola, in which he was played by Massimo Girotti.

Also in 1976, in the American horror film Carrie, a figure of Saint Sebastian appears in Carrie's prayer closet.

Boxer Muhammad Ali was pictured in the iconography of a bound Saint Sebastian pierced by arrows, in the April 1968 issue of Esquire Magazine.

In 1984 there was a movie adaptation called Das Martyrium des heiligen Saint Sebastian starring Terminator star Michael Biehn.

British pop band Alt-J's video for "Hunger of the Pine" contains references to the story of Saint Sebastian's death, adapted to fit the lyrics of the song.

The indie folk band the Mountain Goats have a song called "Hail, St Saint Sebastian" that makes reference to his life.

Scottish musician Momus has a song "Lucky like St Saint Sebastian", featuring on his 1986 debut album Circus Maximus.

In Catholicism, Sebastian is the patron saint of archers, pin-makers, athletes and of a holy death.

Sebastian is one of the patron saints of the city of Qormi in Malta Sebastian is the patron saint of Acireale, Caserta and Petilia Policastro in Italy, Melilli in Sicily, and San Sebastian as well as Palma de Mallorca, Lubrin and Huelva in Spain.

Saint Sebastian is the patron saint of Negombo, Sri Lanka and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Informally, in the tradition of the Afro-Brazilian syncretic religion Umbanda, Saint Sebastian is often associated with Oxossi, especially in the state of Rio de Janeiro itself.

King Sebastian I of Portugal, the only King to ever have this name, was so named for having been born on this saint's feast day.

The Feast of St Saint Sebastian is celebrated among Catholic communities of Kerala in India.

At the Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester, the St Saint Sebastian Society is an organization of campus-wide Christian athletes that works to serve the greater Rochester, New York, area through methods of restorative justice, special needs fundraising and community service.

Also, Sebastian is the patron saint of Leon City Mexico.

Some religious images depicting Saint Sebastian have been adopted by the LGBTQ community.

Oscar Wilde was known to have adored Guido Reni's Saint Sebastian, which is in the collection of the Palazzo Rosso, in Genoa.