St. Sebastian was born in Gaul, present-day France, to wealthy Italian parents. According to tradition he went to Rome to serve and encourage the Christians who were being persecuted under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. To do so effectively and without suspicion, he enrolled in the Roman army as an officer. In this position he did much to encourage the faith of the Christians in the face of brutal martyrdom, and in the process made many new converts through his gift of healing. Once he was discovered to be a Christian, he was seized by Roman officers, tied to a tree, and shot through with arrows. He survived this, and was healed by St. Irene of Rome. Being fully recovered, he returned to preach to Diocletian himself. Diocletian then had him beaten to death with clubs. St. Sebastian is the patron of many causes, most notably of archers, athletes, police officers, soldiers, and against plague victims and enemies of religion. St. Sebastian’s feast day is January 20th.