Saint Sebastian was a Christian saint and martyr. According to Christian belief, he was killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians.
He is commonly depicted in art and literature tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows. Despite this being the most common artistic depiction of Sebastian, he was, according to legend, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome.
Shortly afterwards he criticized Diocletian in person and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
The details of Saint Sebastian's martyrdom were first spoken of by 4th-century bishop Ambrose of Milan (Saint Ambrose), in his sermon (number 22) on Psalm 118.
Ambrose stated that Sebastian came from Milan and that he was already venerated there at that time. Saint Sebastian is a popular male saint, especially among athletes.
| Patronage | Soldiers, plague-stricken, archers, holy Christian death, athletes |
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In proper ecclesiastical phraseology, ex indumentis should only be used when referring to an article or fragment of clothing that was owned or used by a saint (or similarly blessed individual.
In recent years, contemporary manufacturers of relic medals, holy plaques, saint statues and religious trinkets have begun to label their items as being ex indumentis even though they are not such; rather, they are merely pieces of cloth or canvas that have been touched to an actual relic of the saint,
then stamped out en-masse to be attached to their souvenir medals or statues. As such, they are 3rd-class relics and not 2nd-class relics, as the phrase ex indumentis implies.