Pope Saint Fabian

When the clergy and people of Rome met in 236 to elect a new bishop, Fabian, a layman who had come in from the countryside, was not even considered. The historian Eusebius tells that a dove suddenly flew down and settled on his head, and the crowd, seeing a sign of the Holy Spirit, acclaimed him as bishop of Rome.

Fabian proved a wise pastor. He divided Rome into seven districts, each served by a deacon, to care for the poor; he had the catacombs improved and brought the remains of Pope Saint Pontian back to Rome from exile. When the emperor Decius launched the first empire-wide persecution, Fabian was one of its first victims, dying on January 20, 250. His tomb, with its Greek inscription, was found in the Catacomb of Saint Callixtus.

He shares his feast with Saint Sebastian, and in many towns of Spain and Latin America the two martyrs are celebrated together as "San Fabián y San Sebastián." His relics are venerated in the Basilica of San Sebastiano on the Appian Way.