View source for Saint Sebastian

{{Short description|3rd-century Christian saint and martyr}}
{{otheruses}}
{{Redirect|Sebastián|other uses|Sebastian (name)}}
{{Redirect|Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian||Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix= [[Saint]]
|name = Sebastian 
|image = Sodoma 003.jpg
|caption = ''Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian'', by [[Il Sodoma]], {{circa|1525}}
|titles = Captain of the [[Praetorian Guard]]<br />Roman Soldier, Healer and Martyr
|birth_date = {{circa|AD&nbsp;255}}
|birth_place=[[Narbonne|Narbo Martius]], [[Gallia Narbonensis]], [[Roman Empire]]|death_date = {{circa|AD&nbsp;288}}<br />(aged approximately 32)
|death_place=[[Rome]], [[Roman Italy|Italia]], Roman Empire
|feast_day = {{ubli|20 January (Roman Catholic), and (Oriental Orthodox)|18 December (Eastern Orthodox)|14/15 February (Ethiopian Orthodox church)}}
|attributes = Tied to a post, pillar or a tree, shot by arrows
|patronage = [[Soldiers]]; plague-stricken; [[archers]]; disabled peoples; [[athletes]]; cyclists; [[Negombo]], Sri Lanka; [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa|Archdiocese of Lipa]]; [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarlac|Diocese of Tarlac]]; [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Bacolod|Diocese of Bacolod]]; [[Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas|Chiapa de Corzo]], [[Mixtlán]], Mexico; [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil; [[Qormi]], [[Malta]], 
[[Lumban, Laguna]], Philippines; [[Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City]], [[Borbon, Cebu]], Philippines; [[Pucallpa]], Peru; [[Taquaritinga]], Brazil; [[Ribeirão Preto]], Brazil; [[Győr]], Hungary; [[Cusco]], Peru; [[Loja, Ecuador|Loja]], Ecuador; [[Rome]], Italy |venerated_in={{ubli|[[Catholic Church]]|[[Eastern Orthodox |Orthodox Church]]|[[Oriental Orthodoxy]]|[[Anglicanism]]|[[Lutheranism]]|[[Old Catholicism]]}}
|major_shrine = [[San Sebastiano fuori le mura]] [[Italy]]
}}
'''Sebastian''' ({{langx|la|Sebastianus}}; {{Circa|AD 255|AD 288}}) was an early [[Christianity|Christian]] [[saint]] and [[martyr]]. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the [[Diocletianic Persecution]] of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by [[Irene of Rome]], which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to [[Diocletian]] to warn him about his sins, and as a result he was clubbed to death.<ref name="independent"/><ref name=SHMI>{{cite book|author=Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI|title=My First Book of Saints|year=1997|publisher=Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications|isbn=971-91595-4-5|pages=22–23|chapter=St. Sebastian}}</ref> He is venerated in the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church]] as the patron saint of athletics, archery, and plagues. 

The oldest record of the details of Sebastian's martyrdom is found in the ''[[Chronograph of 354]]'', which mentions him as a martyr, venerated on January 20. He is also mentioned in a sermon on [[Psalm 118]] by 4th-century bishop [[Ambrose|Ambrose of Milan]]: in his sermon, Ambrose stated that Sebastian came from [[Milan]] and that he was already venerated there at that time. The full account of his martyrdom comes from the ''Passio Sancti Sebastiani'', a 5th-century text written by an anonymous author, possibly [[Arnobius the Younger]].

Sebastian is a popular male saint, especially today among athletes.<ref name="accsport.asn.au">{{cite web|url=http://www.accsport.asn.au/acc-information/spirit-service-awards/st-sebastian-fellowship-award/about-st-sebastian|title=About St Sebastian – Associated & Catholic Colleges of WA|website=www.accsport.asn.au|access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dcfaithinaction.org/uncategorized/2012/01/22/the-patron-saint-of-sports/|title=The Patron Saint of Sports|first=Jackie|last=White|access-date=3 December 2017|archive-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804020350/http://dcfaithinaction.org/uncategorized/2012/01/22/the-patron-saint-of-sports/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In medieval times, he was regarded as a saint with a special ability to intercede to protect from [[plague (disease)|plague]], and devotion to him greatly increased when plague was active.

==Life==
There is not much known about Saint Sebastian's early life, but the ancient source mentioning Sebastian is found in the ''[[Chronograph of 354|Chronograph of 354]]'', a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD by the calligrapher and illustrator [[Furius Dionysius Filocalus]], which mentions him as a martyr who was venerated on January 20. His cult is also mentioned by [[Ambrose|Ambrose of Milan]] in his ''Expositio in Psalmum CXVIII'', a theological and exegetical commentary of [[Psalm 118]] dated to 386–390 AD; Ambrose states that Sebastian came from [[Milan]] and that he was venerated as a saint there.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Saint Sebastian|url=https://newdailycompass.com/en/saint-sebastian-1-1|access-date=2022-01-20|website=New Daily Compass}}</ref>

The first surviving account of Sebastian's life and death is the ''Passio Sancti Sebastiani'', long thought to have been written by Ambrose in the 4th century, but now regarded as a 5th-century account by an unknown author (possibly [[Arnobius the Younger]]). This includes the "two martyrdoms", and the care by Irene in between, and other details that remained part of the story.<ref>Hedquist, Valerie, "Ter Brugghen's Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene," ''Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art'' §8–9, 9:2 (Summer 2017) DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2017.9.2.3, [https://jhna.org/articles/ter-brugghen-saint-sebastian-tended-irene/ fully online]; ''The Vatican: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide'', eds. [[Philippe De Montebello]], Kathleen Howard, p. 347, 1983, Metropolitan Museum of Art, {{ISBN|0870993488}}, 9780870993480, [https://books.google.com/books?id=VZUsI-lePtIC&pg=PA347 google books]</ref>

[[File:Nuremberg_chronicles_f_125r_1.jpg|thumb|left|St Sebastian (Sebianus) in the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'' ]]

According to Sebastian's 18th-century entry in ''[[Acta Sanctorum]]'',<ref>''Acta S. Sebastiani Martyris'', in [[Migne|J.-P. Migne]], ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus Accurante'' (Paris 1845), XVII, 1021–581221; abbreviated in [[Jacobus de Voragine]], ''[[Legenda Aurea]]''.</ref> still attributed to Ambrose by the 17th-century [[hagiography|hagiographer]] [[Jean Bolland]], and the briefer account in the 14th-century ''[[Golden Legend|Legenda Aurea]]'', he was a man of [[Gallia Narbonensis]] who was taught in [[Mediolanum]] ([[Milan]]). In 283, Sebastian entered the army in Rome under Emperor [[Carinus]] to assist the [[Christian martyrs|martyrs]]. Because of his courage he became one of the captains of the [[Praetorian Guard]]s under Diocletian and [[Maximian]], who were unaware that he was a Christian.<ref name=SHMI />

According to tradition, Marcus and Marcellianus were twin brothers from a distinguished family and were [[deacon]]s. Both brothers married, and they resided in Rome with their wives and children. The brothers refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods and were arrested. They were visited by their parents Tranquillinus and Martia in prison, who attempted to persuade them to renounce Christianity. Sebastian succeeded in converting Tranquillinus and Martia, as well as [[Saint Tiburtius|Tiburtius]], the son of Chromatius, the local prefect. Another official, Nicostratus, and his wife Zoe were also converted. It has been said that Zoe had been a mute for six years; however, she made known to Sebastian her desire to be converted to Christianity. As soon as she had, her speech returned to her. Nicostratus then brought the rest of the prisoners; these 16 persons were converted by Sebastian.<ref>Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. ''A Dictionary of Miracles: Imitative, Realistic, and Dogmatic'' (Chatto and Windus, 1901), p.11.</ref>

Chromatius and Tiburtius converted; Chromatius set all of his prisoners free from jail, resigned his position, and retired to the country in [[Campania]]. Marcus and Marcellianus, after being concealed by a Christian named [[Castulus]], were later martyred, as were Nicostratus, Zoe, and Tiburtius.<ref name=Butler>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/SEBASTN.htm Butler, Alban. ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints'', Vol.I]</ref>

===Martyrdom===
[[File:Stsebastian.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Reliquary]] of Saint Sebastian, {{circa|1497}}<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Victoria and Albert Museum]]|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O62629/reliquary-reliquary-of-st-sebastian/|title=Reliquary of St Sebastian|work=Metalwork|date=2 August 1497 |access-date=2007-08-17}}</ref> ([[Victoria and Albert Museum]], London)]]
[[File:Lodovico Carracci (Italian - St. Sebastian Thrown into the Cloaca Maxima - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|[[Lodovico Carracci]] painted ''St Sebastian Thrown into the [[Cloaca Maxima]]'' for the church at the place where his body was found (1612). The subject is virtually unique.]]
[[File:Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. Engraving by N. Dorigny, 1699, Wellcome V0033546.jpg|thumb|Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, from a 1699 engraving by N. Dorigny.]] 
Sebastian had prudently concealed his faith, but in 286 it was detected. Diocletian reproached him for his supposed betrayal, and he commanded him to be led to a field and there to be bound to a stake so that the chosen archers from [[Mauretania]] would shoot arrows at him. "And the archers shot at him till he was as full of arrows as an [[hedgehog|urchin]]{{refn|group=Note|"Urchin" here is the archaic English word for [[hedgehog]], not a [[sea urchin]]. The original Latin uses the word "hericius",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/voragine/seb.shtml|title=Iacobus de Voragine: Historia de Sancto Sebastiano|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latin-dictionary.org/hericius|title=hericius definition &#124; Latin Dictionary|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> not "echinus".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latin-dictionary.org/echinus|title=echinus definition &#124; Latin Dictionary|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref>}} is full of pricks, and thus left him there for dead."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume2.asp#Sebastian|title=Internet History Sourcebooks: Medieval Sourcebook: The Golden Legend: Volume II: The Life of Sebastian|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> Miraculously, the arrows did not kill him. The widow of Castulus, [[Irene of Rome]], went to retrieve his body to bury it, and discovered he was still alive. She brought him back to her house and nursed him back to health.<ref name=SHMI />

Sebastian later stood by a staircase where the emperor was to pass and harangued Diocletian for his cruelties against Christians. This freedom of speech, and from a person whom he supposed to have been dead, greatly astonished the emperor; but recovering from his surprise, he gave orders for Sebastian to be seized and beaten to death with [[cudgels]], and his body thrown into the common sewer. A holy lady named Lucina, admonished by the martyr in a vision, privately removed the body and buried it in the [[Catacomb of Callixtus |catacombs]] at the entrance of the cemetery of Callixtus,<ref name=Butler/> where now stands the [[San Sebastiano fuori le mura|Basilica of St. Sebastian]].<ref name=SHMI />

===Location of remains===
[[File:sebastia.jpg|left|215px|thumb|''St. Sebastian'' (detail), [[Andrea Mantegna]], 1480, [[Musée du Louvre]], Paris]]
Remains reputed to be those of Sebastian are housed in Rome in the ''Basilica Apostolorum'', built by [[Pope Damasus I]] in 367 on the site of the provisional tomb of Saints [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]. The church, today called [[San Sebastiano fuori le mura]], was rebuilt in the 1610s under the patronage of [[Scipione Borghese]].

Ado, Eginard, Sigebert, and other contemporary authors relate that, in the reign of [[Louis the Pious|Louis Debonnair]], [[Pope Eugenius II]] gave the body of Sebastian to Hilduin, Abbot of St. Denys, who brought it into [[Kingdom of France|France]], and it was deposited at [[Abbey of St. Medard, Soissons|Saint Medard Abbey]], at [[Soissons]], on 8 December, in 826.<ref name=Butler/>

Sebastian's [[cranium]] was brought to the town of [[Ebersberg]] ([[Holy Roman Empire|Germany]]) in 934. A Benedictine abbey was founded there and became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in southern Germany.<ref>City of Ebersberg website: [http://www.ebersberg.de/deutsch/kultur-geschichte/gruendung-kloster-wallfahrtsort-entwicklung/kloster-ebersberg.html ''Kloster Ebersberg''] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20140710233053/http://www.ebersberg.de/deutsch/kultur-geschichte/gruendung-kloster-wallfahrtsort-entwicklung/kloster-ebersberg.html |date=10 July 2014 }} (German)</ref> It is said the silver-encased cranium was used as a cup in which to present the consecrated wine of the [[Blessed Sacrament]] to the faithful during the feast of Saint Sebastian.<ref>Thomas Foster Earle, K. J. P. Lowe: ''Black Africans in Renaissance Europe'', p. 191, Cambridge University Press, 2005.</ref>

<gallery caption="Reliquary of Saint Sebastian in Ebersberg">
Relic of St. Sebastian 01.JPG|Silver sculpture from 1450
Relic of St. Sebastian 03.JPG|The cranium
</gallery>

==As protector against plague==
[[File:Josse Lieferinxe - Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken - Walters 371995.jpg|left|thumb|''Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken'' (at top),<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[The Walters Art Museum]]|url=http://art.thewalters.org/detail/6193|title=Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken}}</ref> [[Josse Lieferinxe]], 1497–1499, [[The Walters Art Museum]]]]

The belief that Saint Sebastian was a defense against [[Plague (disease)|the plague]] was a medieval addition to his reputation, which largely accounts for the enormous increase in his importance in the [[Late Middle Ages]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.prayersandpetitions.org/feast-of-saints-fabian-and-sebastian-martyrs-20th-january/|date=20 January 2022|title=FEAST OF SAINTS FABIAN AND SEBASTIAN, MARTYRS – 20th JANUARY|publisher=Prayers and Petitions|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref> The connection of the martyr shot with arrows with the plague is not an intuitive one. However, the hopeful example of Sebastian being able to recover from his "first [[martyrdom]]" (or "sagittation", as it is sometimes called) was relevant as the arrow-wounds can resemble the [[buboe]]s that were symptoms of bubonic plague. Visually, "the arrow wounds call to God for mercy to us, as the symptoms of the infirm call for pity from the passerby", as [[Molanus]] put it.<ref>Mitchell</ref>

The [[chronicler]] [[Paul the Deacon]] relates that, in 680, [[Rome]] was freed from a raging pestilence by him. The ''[[Golden Legend]]'' transmits the episode of a great plague that afflicted the [[Lombards]] in the time of King Gumburt, which was stopped by the erection of an altar in honor of Sebastian in the Church of Saint Peter in the [[Province of Pavia]].

==In art and literature==
===Art===
[[File:Mosaico di San Sebastiano.JPG|thumb|Mosaic in [[San Pietro in Vincoli]], ?682]]
[[File:Heilige Sebastiaan vastgebonden aan een boom.jpg|thumb|Print of Saint Sebastian. Made in the sixteenth century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Heilige Sebastiaan vastgebonden aan een boom|url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:B75B6AE6-BA2C-11EA-B1A4-06FDA936FAF6#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-6388,-595,20190,11897|access-date=2020-10-02|website=lib.ugent.be}}</ref>]]
[[File:Guido Reni - Saint Sebastian - Google Art Project (27740148).jpg|thumb|''Saint Sebastian'' by [[Guido Reni]], oil on canvas, circa 1615.]]
The earliest known representation of Sebastian is a mosaic in the [[Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo]] ([[Ravenna|Ravenna, Italy]]) dated between 527 and 565.<ref>The Iconography of Saint Sebastian: https://www.alessandro-giua.it/SEBASTIAN/</ref> The right lateral wall of the basilica contains large mosaics representing a procession of 26 martyrs, led by Saint Martin and including Sebastian. The martyrs are represented in Byzantine style, lacking any individuality, and all have identical expressions.

Another early representation is in a mosaic in the Church of [[San Pietro in Vincoli]] in Rome, probably made in the year 682. It shows a grown, bearded man in court dress but contains no trace of an arrow.<ref>{{cite CE1913| wstitle=St. Sebastian|first=Klemens|last=Löffler| volume 13|short=yes}}</ref> The archers and arrows begin to appear by 1000, and ever since have been far more commonly shown than the actual moment of his death by clubbing, so that there is a popular misperception that this is how he died.<ref>Barker, 94–95</ref>

As protector of potential plague victims (a connection popularized by the ''Golden Legend''<ref>Barker, 96–97</ref>) and soldiers, Sebastian occupied an important place in the popular medieval mind. He was among the most frequently depicted of all saints by Late Gothic and Renaissance artists, in the period after the [[Black Death]].<ref>Boeckl, 76–80</ref> The opportunity to show a semi-nude young male, often in a contorted pose, also made Sebastian a favorite subject.<ref>Barker, 114–7,[https://books.google.com/books?id=KKXbDZhEMFsC&dq=St+Sebastian++St+Irene+Counter-Reformation,&pg=PA117 Google books].</ref> His 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. Sebastian appears in many other [[old master print|prints]] and paintings, although this was due to his popularity with the faithful. Among many others, [[Botticelli]], [[Perugino]], [[Titian]], [[Antonio del Pollaiuolo|Pollaiuolo]], [[Giovanni Bellini]], [[Guido Reni]] (who painted the subject seven times), [[Andrea Mantegna|Mantegna]] (three times), [[Hans Memling]], [[Gerrit van Honthorst]], [[Luca Signorelli]], [[El Greco]], [[Honoré Daumier]], [[John Singer Sargent]] and [[Louise Bourgeois]] all painted Saint Sebastians. An early work by the sculptor [[Gianlorenzo Bernini]] is of [[St. Sebastian (Bernini)|Saint Sebastian]].

The saint is ordinarily depicted as a handsome youth pierced by arrows. [[Predella]] scenes when required often depicted his arrest, confrontation with the Emperor, and final beheading.
[[File:Georges de La Tour 003.jpg|thumb|284x284px|[[Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene (Georges de La Tour, Louvre)]], {{circa}} 1645]]

[[Hans Holbein the Elder]] created a statuette of Saint Sebastian "in silver and parcel-gilt", now in the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in [[London]].<ref>[[Franny Moyle|Moyle, Franny]], ''The King's Painter: The Life and Times of [[Hans Holbein the Younger|Hans Holbein]]'', New York: Abrams Press, 2021, p. 19.</ref>

A mainly 17th-century subject, though found in [[predella]] scenes as early as the 15th century,<ref>Boeckl, p. 77</ref> was ''[[Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene]]'', painted by [[Georges de La Tour]], [[Trophime Bigot]] (four times), [[Jusepe de Ribera]], [[Hendrick ter Brugghen]] (in [[Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene (Ter Brugghen)|perhaps his masterpiece]])<ref>Slive, Seymour, Dutch Painting, 1600–1800, Yale UP, 1995, {{ISBN|0300074514}}, p.22</ref> and others. This may have been a deliberate attempt by the Church to get away from the single nude subject, which is already recorded in [[Vasari]] as sometimes arousing inappropriate thoughts among churchgoers.<ref>"[Fra Bartolommeo] painted a picture of S. Sebastian, naked, very lifelike in the colouring of the flesh, sweet in countenance, and likewise executed with corresponding beauty of person, whereby he won infinite praise from the craftsmen. It is said that, while this figure was exposed to view in the church, the friars found, through the confessional, women who had sinned at the sight of it, on account of the charm and melting beauty of the lifelike reality imparted to it by the genius of Fra Bartolommeo; for which reason they removed it from the church."

[[iarchive:livesofmostemine04vasauoft/page/158/mode/2up|Lives of the most eminent painters, sculptors & architects by Vasari, Giorgio, 1511-1574]]</ref> The Baroque artists usually treated it as a nocturnal [[chiaroscuro]] scene, illuminated by a single candle, torch or lantern, in the style fashionable in the first half of the 17th century. There exist several cycles depicting the life of Sebastian. Among them are the frescos in the basilica church of [[San Sebastiano, Acireale]] in Sicily painted by [[Pietro Paolo Vasta]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=l5lGAAAAcAAJ Giornale arcadico di scienze, lettere ed arti], Volume 167, page 209-211.</ref>

[[Egon Schiele]], an Austrian Expressionist artist, painted a self-portrait as Saint Sebastian in 1915.<ref>Zwingenberger, Jeanette (2011). ''Schiele''. New York: Parkstone International. p. 154. {{ISBN|9781780421957}}.</ref>

===Literature, fiction, and music===
[[File:Woodblock of St Sebastian.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Woodblock of St. Sebastian from South Germany, {{circa}} 1470–1475]]
In 1911, the Italian playwright [[Gabriele d'Annunzio]] in conjunction with [[Claude Debussy]] produced ''[[Le Martyre de saint Sébastien]]''. The American composer [[Gian Carlo Menotti]] composed a ballet score for a [[Ballets Russes]] production which was first given in 1944. In his novella ''[[Death in Venice]]'', [[Thomas Mann]] hails the "Sebastian-Figure" as the supreme emblem of [[Apollonian and Dionysian|Apollonian]] beauty, that is, the artistry of differentiated forms; beauty as measured by discipline, proportion, and luminous distinctions. This allusion to Sebastian's suffering, associated with the writerly professionalism of the novella's protagonist, Gustav Aschenbach, provides a model for the "heroism born of weakness", which characterizes poise amidst agonizing torment and plain acceptance of one's fate as, beyond mere patience and passivity, a stylized achievement and artistic triumph.<ref name="artintuscany">{{cite web|url=http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/art/saintsebastian.htm|title=Art in Tuscany: Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian|publisher=Traveling in Tuscany|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref>

Sebastian's death was depicted in the 1949 film ''[[Fabiola (1949 film)|Fabiola]]'', in which he was played by [[Massimo Girotti]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a9be6fe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204075920/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a9be6fe|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 December 2017|title=Fabiola (1949)|publisher=BFI|access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref> In 1976, the British director [[Derek Jarman]] made a film, ''[[Sebastiane]]'', which caused controversy in its treatment of the martyr as a "[[homosexual icon]]", according to a number of critics reflecting a subtext perceptible in the imagery since the Renaissance.<ref name="independent">{{cite news|place=UK|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/arrows-of-desire-how-did-st-sebastian-become-an-enduring-homoerotic-icon-779388.html|title=How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon?|newspaper=The Independent|date=10 February 2008}}.</ref> Also in 1976, in the American horror film ''[[Carrie (1976 film)|Carrie]]'', a figure of Saint Sebastian (commonly misconstrued as a figure of the crucified Christ) appears in Carrie's prayer closet.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 12, 2019 |title=Stephen King movies revisited: looking back at Carrie |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/revisiting-the-film-of-stephen-kings-carrie/ |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=[[Den of Geek]]}}</ref>

A depiction of Saint Sebastian in a fresco restoration in an isolated Italian village is the central motif and cryptic mystery of the 1976 [[giallo]] horror film ''[[The House with Laughing Windows]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Brutal Nobility: Painting Death in The House with Laughing Windows (Pupi Avati, 1976)|date=30 June 2014|url=http://brightlightsfilm.com/brutal-nobility-painting-death-house-laughing-windows-pupi-avati-1976/#.V-LWaIgrKUk|access-date=2016-09-21}}</ref>

The music video for the 1991 [[R.E.M.]] song ''[[Losing My Religion]]'' briefly features imagery of Saint Sebastian at 1:10, 3:18, 4:05, and 4:24, but with arrows that are clearly attached with tape.

In 1997, the [[The Hand of St. Sebastian|eighth episode]] of the [[Millennium (season 2)|second season]] of the television series ''[[Millennium (TV series)|Millennium]]'', the protagonists search for the hand of Saint Sebastian.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://millennium-thisiswhoweare.net/guide/synopsis/208/the-hand-of-saint-sebastian/|title=Episode Synopsis |website=millennium-thisiswhoweare.net| access-date=April 6, 2020}}</ref>

In 2007, artist [[Damien Hirst]] presented Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain from his Natural History series. The piece depicts a cow in [[formaldehyde]], bound in metal cable and shot with arrows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcadenver.org/index.php/exhibitions/Damien_Hirst |website=MCA Denver |title=Damien Hirst |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423110107/http://www.mcadenver.org/index.php/exhibitions/Damien_Hirst|archive-date=2010-04-23}}.</ref>
[[File:Mosaic of Saint Sebastian from Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna.jpg|thumb|150px|Mosaic of Saint Sebastian from the [[Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo]] in [[Ravenna]]]]
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. [[Tarsem Singh]]'s video for the [[R.E.M.]] song "[[Losing My Religion]]" makes use of imagery of Saint Sebastian, drawing particular inspiration from paintings by Guido Reni<ref>{{cite web|url=http://videoslovemovies.tumblr.com/post/29019546876/losing-my-religion|title=Losing My Religion|first=Matthew|last=Buchanan|website=Music Videos Love Movies|access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref> and [[Cecco del Caravaggio|Caravaggio]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Buckley|first1=David|title=R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography|date=2002|publisher=Virgin|isbn=978-1-85227-927-1|pages=206–07}}</ref> The indie folk band [[the Mountain Goats]] have a song called "Hail, St. Sebastian" that makes reference to his life.<ref>{{Citation|last=notasfarwest|title=The Mountain Goats - Hail St. Sebastian|date=2015-09-07|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yNSW2r_7vc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211108/_yNSW2r_7vc| archive-date=2021-11-08 | url-status=live|access-date=2017-06-25}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Scottish musician [[Momus (musician)|Momus]] has a song "Lucky like St Sebastian", featuring on his 1986 debut album ''[[Circus Maximus (Momus album)|Circus Maximus]].''{{citation needed|date = May 2025}}

[[Madonna]]'s song "I'm a Sinner" from her 2012 album ''[[MDNA (album)|MDNA]]'' has a segment resembling a [[litany]], including the line, "St. Sebastian, don't you cry; let those poisoned arrows fly."<ref>{{cite web|title=I'm a Sinner |url=https://www.madonna.com/pages/song/i-m-a-sinner}}</ref>

The 2013–2018 Canadian drama series ''[[Forgive Me (TV series)|Forgive Me]]'' centres on a priest haunted by recurring visions of Saint Sebastian.<ref>{{cite news|last=Doyle|first=John|title=Forgive Me: A fine, fraught new series about sinners|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/forgive-me-a-fine-fraught-new-series-about-sinners/article14092742/|access-date=22 September 2013|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=4 September 2013}}</ref>

The look of the character Gemino in the popular action-platform videogame ''[[Blasphemous (video game)|Blasphemous]]'' is clearly inspired by Saint Sebastian.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/blasphemous-isnt/|last=Porfiri|first=Steven|date=26 October 2019|title=Gaming Features: BLASPHEMOUS Isn't|magazine=Merry-Go-Round Magazine|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref>

==Patronage==
[[File:0 Saint Sébastien secouru par les anges - Pierre Paul Rubens (1).JPG|thumb|right|''Saint Sebastian'' by [[Peter Paul Rubens]] (1604), oil on canvas, 120 × 100 cm, [[Antwerp]]]]
[[File:Glyn Philpot St Sebastian Painting 1932.jpg|thumb|St Sebastian by [[Glyn Philpot]] (1932), oil on canvas, 36 × {{frac|28|1|2}}{{vague|reason=no units|date=October 2024}}]]
In the [[Catholic Church]], Sebastian is commemorated by an optional memorial on 20 January. In the [[Church of Greece]], Sebastian's feast day is on 18 December.

As a protector from the [[bubonic plague]], Sebastian was formerly one of the [[Fourteen Holy Helpers]]. In Catholicism, Sebastian is the patron saint of archers, pin-makers, athletes (a modern association) and of a holy death.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Simon |first1=Joshua D. |last2=Reddy-Best |first2=Kelly L. | date=2024-02-23 |title=Art, Media, and Fashion: Negotiating Queerness and Catholicism Through Depictions of Saint Sebastian, From the 15th Century to the Present |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00918369.2022.2132442 |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |language=en |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=691–721 |doi=10.1080/00918369.2022.2132442 |pmid=36250980 |issn=0091-8369|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
[[File:San Sebastian El Greco.jpg|thumb|right|287x287px|''Saint Sebastian'' by [[El Greco]] (1578) in [[Palencia Cathedral|Cathedral of San Antolín]], [[Palencia]]]]

Sebastian is one of the [[patron saint]]s of the city of [[Qormi]] in [[Malta]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qormisbparish.org|title=Merħba – Parroċċa San Sebastjan|website=Parroċċa San Sebastjan|access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref> Sebastian is the [[patron saint]] of Acireale, [[Caserta]] and [[Petilia Policastro]] in [[Italy]], [[Melilli]] in [[Sicily]], and [[San Sebastián (Spain)|San Sebastián]] as well as [[Palma, Majorca|Palma de Mallorca]], [[Lubrín]] and [[Huelva]] in Spain. He is the patron saint of [[Negombo]], Sri Lanka and [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil. Informally, in the tradition of the [[Afro-Brazilian]] [[syncretic religion]] [[Umbanda]], Sebastian is often associated with [[Oxossi]], especially in the state of Rio de Janeiro itself.<ref name="artintuscany" />
In [[Lubrín]], every year on 20 January, there is a festival in honor of Saint Sebastian. A statue of Saint Sebastian leads a procession around the village, and people hurl bread rolls from their balconies to the crowds following the saint in the streets below. The rolls have a hole in the middle and some people string them on a rope around their body. The festival is thought to have originated in the 14th century, after a plague of [[cholera]] hit the area. At this time, the wealthy were said to have thrown bread and money to the poor on the streets below, so as to avoid catching the disease.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.puerta.lubrin.net/municipio_de_lubrin.htm|title=Municipio de Lubrin|website=www.puerta.lubrin.net|access-date=2019-07-14|archive-date=14 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714162105/http://www.puerta.lubrin.net/municipio_de_lubrin.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The San Sebastian 'bread festival' is so unusual that it has been declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest in [[Andalusia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andalucia.org/en/events-calendar/san-sebastian-bread-festival-in-lubrin/|title=San Sebastián - Bread Festival - Official tourism website of Andalucía|website=www.andalucia.org|access-date=2019-07-14}}</ref>

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. Sebastian is celebrated among [[Catholic]] communities of [[Kerala]] in India. Churches are illuminated and decorated, with fireworks being a main event in Catholic homes to commemorate the saint.<ref name="catholicsetcultures">{{cite web|url=https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/india-devotion-st-sebastian-powerful-intercessor|title=Kerala: Devotion to St. Sebastian as a powerful intercessor|date=3 April 2018 |publisher=Catholics & Cultures|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref> Every parish has its own date of celebration, especially in the districts of [[Thrissur]], [[Ernakulam]], [[St. Andrew's Basilica, Arthunkal]] and [[Kottayam]]. In [[St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Malayattoor|Kanjoor Syro Malabar Church]] the feast is celebrated with the largest procession of golden crosses and decorated umbrellas in Asia.<ref name="catholicsetcultures" /> Besides this, many pilgrim centres, churches, shrines and many educational institutions too, throughout Kerala, bear the name of the saint.

He is the patron of San Sebastian College – Recoletos in [[Manila]], Philippines, which is adjacent to the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian, the all-steel church in the Philippines and in Asia administered by the Order of Augustinian Recollect (OAR). At the Catholic Newman Community at the [[University of Rochester]], the St. 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]].<ref>St. Sebastian Society web page: http://urnewman.org/groups/st-sebastian</ref>

Sebastian is the patron saint of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Bacolod]], in [[Negros Occidental]], Philippines and [[Lipa City]] in [[Batangas]], Philippines. Also, Sebastian is the patron saint of [[León, Guanajuato|Leon]] City [[Mexico]]. A representation of the Saint in his martyrdom is present in the upper left corner of the city coat of arms.

Sebastian is the patron of [[Knights of Columbus]] Council #4926 in the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California]], serving the cities of [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]] and [[Los Altos, California|Los Altos]]. Sebastian is the patron saint of the [[Catholic War Veterans]] of the United States of America. The highest award given by the CWV is the Honor Legion of the Order of St. Sebastian.

In his 1906 ''Reminiscences'', [[Carl Schurz]] recalls the annual "bird shoot" pageant of the [[Rhine|Rhenish]] town of [[Liblar]] ([[:de:Liblar|de]]), sponsored by the Saint Sebastian Society, a club of [[sharpshooter]]s and their sponsors to which nearly every adult member of the town belonged.<ref>Carl Schurz, ''Reminiscences'' (3 vols.), New York: McClure Publ., 1907, vol. 1, chap. 2, pp. 46–8; chap. 3, pp. 81–3.</ref>

The [[St. Sebastian River]] in the American state of [[Florida]] is named after him. The river is a tributary of the [[Indian River Lagoon]] and comprises part of the boundary between [[Indian River County, Florida|Indian River County]] and [[Brevard County, Florida|Brevard County]]. The adjacent city of [[Sebastian, Florida]], and [[St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park]] are also named for Saint Sebastian.<ref>Sebastian Tales</ref>

==LGBTQ association==
{{See also|Christianity and sexual orientation#Saints|LGBTQ themes in mythology}}
[[File:SaraceniSebastian.jpg|thumb|''Saint Sebastian'', [[Carlo Saraceni]], c. 1610–1616, Picture Gallery of the [[Prague Castle]]. The image of Sebastian pierced by arrows has regularly been described as homoerotic.<ref>[http://www.glbtq.com/arts/subjects_st_sebastian.html glbtg: an encyclopaedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer culture] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901002221/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/subjects_st_sebastian.html|date=September 1, 2007 }}</ref>]]
In 1996, American author Richard A. Kaye wrote that "Contemporary gay men have seen in Sebastian at once a stunning advertisement for homosexual desire (indeed, a homoerotic ideal), and a prototypical portrait of tortured [[The closet|closet case]]."<ref name=QUEER2>{{Cite book |last=Kaye |first=Richard A. |chapter=Losing His Religion: Saint Sebastian as Contemporary Gay Martyr |title=Outlooks: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities and Visual Cultures |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Horne |editor-first2=Reina |editor-last2=Lewis |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |page=105 |doi=10.4324/9780203432433|isbn=9781134803088 |s2cid=241421117 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/arrows-of-desire-how-did-st-sebastian-become-an-enduring-homoerotic-icon-779388.html |title=Arrows of desire: How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon? |newspaper=The Independent |date=10 February 2008 |access-date=16 July 2009}}</ref>

Some religious images depicting Saint Sebastian have been adopted by the [[LGBTQ community]].<ref name=QUEER>{{Cite web|url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/subjects_st_sebastian.html |title=Subjects of the Visual Arts: St. Sebastian |work=[[glbtq.com]] |access-date=1 August 2007 |year=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901002221/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/subjects_st_sebastian.html |archive-date= 1 September 2007 }}</ref> A combination of his strong, shirtless physique, the symbolism of the arrows penetrating his body, and the countenance of rapturous pain have intrigued artists (gay or otherwise) for centuries.<ref name=QUEER/> 

[[Oscar Wilde]] was known to have adored Guido Reni's ''Saint Sebastian'', which is in the collection of the Palazzo Rosso, in Genoa. While exiled in Paris, Wilde went so far as to adopt the alias Sebastian Melmoth during the remaining years of his life.<ref>{{cite web |title=How did St Sebastian become a Gay Icon? |url=https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/lgbt-artwork-marks-saint-sebastian-feast-day |publisher=National Museums Liverpool |access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref> Other homosexual poets and artists like [[Federico García Lorca]] or [[Pier Paolo Pasolini]] highlighted the importance of Saint Sebastian imagery in their work.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Link |first1=Daniel |title=Apuntes sobre San Sebastian |url=https://lecturesdugenre.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/link.pdf |website=lecturesdugenre.fr |access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref>

In [[Yukio Mishima]]'s novel ''[[Confessions of a Mask]]'', the protagonist Kochan has his first gay sexual experience while looking at a reproduction of [[Guido Reni]]'s ''Saint Sebastian''. Kochan remarks:

{{Quote|It is an interesting coincidence that Hirschfeld should place 'pictures of Saint Sebastian' in the first rank of those kinds of art works in which the invert takes special delight.}}

This references [[Magnus Hirschfeld]]'s belief that gay men have an inclination towards certain artistic subjects including Saint Sebastian.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Camilla |date=2023-04-03 |title=Uneasy Articulations: Magnus Hirschfeld, Art, and Sexual Science in Early Twentieth-Century Germany |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00043079.2023.2142892 |journal=The Art Bulletin |language=en |volume=105 |issue=2 |pages=81–112 |doi=10.1080/00043079.2023.2142892 |issn=0004-3079|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Le martyre de Saint Sébastien]]'', [[Claude Debussy]]
* ''[[Saint Sebastian at the Column (Dürer)|Saint Sebastian at the Column]]''
* [[Santa Muerte]], from Mexican [[folk Catholicism]], who is sometimes referred to as ''Santa Sebastiana''
* [[St. Sebastian (Mantegna)|The three paintings]] by Mantegna
* ''[[Saint Sebastian and the Angel]] ''

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* Barker, Sheila, ''The Making of a Plague Saint'', ch. 4 in ''Piety and Plague: from Byzantium to the Baroque'', Ed. [[Franco Mormando]], [[Thomas Worcester]] Truman State University, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-931112-73-4}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KKXbDZhEMFsC&pg=PA117 Google books]
* {{cite book|last=Boeckl|first=Christine M|title=Images of Plague and Pestilence: Iconography and Iconology|pages=76–80|publisher=Truman State University|year=2000|isbn=978-0-943549-85-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sIxTJ4wv3u8C&q=St+Sebastian++St+Irene,&pg=PA77}}
* Hedquist, Valerie, "Ter Brugghen's Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene," ''Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art'' 9:2 (Summer 2017) {{doi|10.5092/jhna.2017.9.2.3}}, [https://jhna.org/articles/ter-brugghen-saint-sebastian-tended-irene/ fully online] 
* Mitchell, Peter, "The Politics of Morbidity: Plague Symbolism in Martyrdom and Medical Anatomy", in ''The Arts of 17th-Century Science: Representations of the Natural World in European and North American Culture'', eds. Claire Jowitt, Diane Watt, 2002, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-1351894449}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=w0hBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT125 google books]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.catholicrevelations.com/category/saints/the-life-and-martyrdom-of-st-sebastian-christian-saint-and-martyr-of-the-catholic-church.html The Life and Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, Saint and Martyr of the Catholic Church]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061224030351/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/golden155.htm ''Legenda Aurea'': Life of Saint Sebastian]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080424092445/http://saints.sqpn.com/saints03.htm Saint Sebastian]
* [http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/SEBASTN.htm Butler, ''The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints'', St Sebastian]
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=St. Sebastian|first=Klemens|last=Löffler|short=yes}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sebastian, St |volume= 24 |last= Delehaye |first= Hippolyte |author-link= Hippolyte Delehaye |short=1}}

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[[Category:Saint Sebastian| ]]
[[Category:256 births]]
[[Category:288 deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century Romans]]
[[Category:3rd-century Christian martyrs]]
[[Category:Gallo-Roman saints]]
[[Category:People from Gallia Narbonensis]]
[[Category:Members and leaders of the Praetorian Guard]]
[[Category:Executed ancient Roman people]]
[[Category:People executed by the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Deaths by beating in Europe]]
[[Category:3rd-century Gallo-Roman people]]
[[Category:LGBTQ and Catholicism]]
[[Category:Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian]]