What are facts about Saint Sebastian?

Answer 1

The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that little more than the fact of his martyrdom near the end of the third century can be proved about St. Sebastian. Even then, his martyrdom can not be absolutely proven so we must go to later centuries to find facts about how the legend developed:

1. The Acts formerly ascribed erroneously to Ambrose, but probably written at the beginning of the fifth century, relate that Sebastian came from Milan and even in the time of Ambrose, he was venerated there. Sebastian was an officer in the imperial bodyguard, and had secretly done many acts of love and charity for his brethren in the Faith. When he was finally discovered to be a Christian in 286, he was handed over to the Mauretanian archers, who pierced him with arrows; he was healed, however, by St. Irene. He was finally killed by the blows of a club. The Catholic Encyclopedia says these stories are unhistorical and not worthy of belief.
2. The earliest mosaic picture of St. Sebastian, which probably belongs to the year 682, shows a grown, beardedman in court dress but contains no trace of an arrow. It was the art of the Renaissance that first portrayed him as a youth pierced by arrows.
3. Saint Sebastian is considered a protector against the plague. His feast day is 20 January.

Answer 2

Saint Sebastian was a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century. He was a Roman soldier who was executed for his faith by being tied to a stake and shot with arrows. He is now considered the patron saint of athletes and soldiers.