Feast day: January 20
St. Sebastian was a soldier. He lived in the 3rd century (that was almost 300 years after Jesus was on Earth).
While in the army, he taught many others about Jesus and they became Christians.
When he was alive, Christians were being persecuted and being killed. People tried to kill him because he told people about Jesus. He was shot with many arrows, but survived.
Once he recovered, he went to the emperor to tell him to stop persecuting Christians. The emperor had him killed.
St. Sebastian was willing to give his life for the faith twice!
He is the patron saint of soldiers, archers and athletes. Many young athletes look to St. Sebastian as an example.
To celebrate his feast day, you can pray for soldiers, play a sport or tell someone about Jesus!
Seeking student artists to depict the saints
Youth who are high school age and younger are invited to submit original visual art, such as a drawing or painting, to be featured in the “Saints for Kids” section of Youth Focus.
For the next Saints foqr Kids, the subject of the artwork is Our Lady of Lourdes & St. Bernadette. A photo of the artwork can be submitted via email to ocastlen@archlou.org or the original can be mailed to the attention of The Record at the Maloney Center, 1200 S. Shelby St., Louisville, Ky., 40203, with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope.
The deadline to submit is Jan. 23. Call reporter Olivia Castlen at 471-2131 with any questions.
