The Martyrdoms of Saints Fabian and Sebastian

January 20th Readings Reflection: Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time (Optional Memorial of Saint Fabian, pope and martyr, and Optional Memorial of Saint Sebastian, martyr)

Today is the feast of Saints Fabian and Sebastian. Both of these saints were martyrs in the 3rd century AD, but despite living nearly 1800 years ago, their lives still contain an important message for us today.

St. Fabian was the twenty-first pope of the Catholic Church.¹ Sadly, we have lost the account of his martyrdom, as it was burned during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. From other surviving texts that mention the saint, we know that he was a man of great virtue and zeal for the Catholic Faith. He worked to preserve the Church’s Acts of the Martyrs, which recorded the names, lives, and sufferings of the preceding martyred popes.² The first thirty-one popes gave their lives as martyrs for the Catholic Faith.³ St. Fabian was martyred on January 20, 250.

St. Sebastian is perhaps a bit more well-known due to his frequently being the subject of sacred art, where he is usually depicted as a young man pierced by arrows. St. Sebastian was a young Christian soldier who travelled to Rome in the hopes of encouraging the imprisoned Christians there. While in Rome, St. Sebastian not only renewed the faith of the imprisoned Christians but also converted some of the non-Christian jailers, many of whom were later martyred themselves.⁴

This was during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, who outlawed Christianity and ordered the martyrdom of many Christians in Rome. One of these martyrs was St. Sebastian, who was taken before Diocletian during his stay in Rome. In the year 288, Diocletian ordered St. Sebastian to be shot to death with arrows. However, this did not kill the courageous saint, and according to accounts of his martyrdom, he “[ran] to his persecutor Dioclesian [sic], asking for a second martyrdom.”⁵ Having survived the first martyrdom, St. Sebastian was then scourged to death.⁶

Today’s Gospel reading recounts how people thought Jesus was “out of [H]is mind.” He did not live like most men; rather, He spent His time on earth preaching the Gospel, forgiving sins, and healing the sick. Like those who killed Saints Fabian and Sebastian, the non-believers thought Jesus was crazy because they did not understand the depths of His love. When the martyrs died, their persecutors thought that they were gone forever. However, our faith tells us that this life on earth is neither the end of our existence nor even the most important life, for our souls are immortal and cannot die with our bodies. Through the intercession of Saints Fabian and Sebastian, may we remain always steadfast in our faith, trusting that God will reward our faithfulness with eternal life in the world to come.

Saints Fabian and Sebastian, ora pro nobis! Source: Sensus Fidelium

1. The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “Saint Fabian (250) and Saint Sebastian (288),” at Catholicism.org, 20 January 2000, at www.catholicism.org.

2. Dom Prosper Gueranger, “January 20—St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr & St. Sebastian, Martyr,” at Sensus Fidelium, www.sensusfidelium.com.

3. The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “Saint Fabian and Saint Sebastian.”

4. Gueranger, “St. Fabian & St. Sebastian.”

5. Ibid.

6. The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “Saint Fabian and Saint Sebastian.”