Justus and Pastor ( la, Iustus et Pastor; died 304), venerated as Christian

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s, were two schoolboy brothers (Justus was 13 years old, Pastor less than 9) who were killed for their faith during the Diocletian persecutions. The boys are today considered the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s of Alcalá. They are mentioned by

Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some ti ...

Martyrdom

After the imperial proclamation was made public in Complutum, Justus and Pastor, were at school. Stimulated by their desire to give their lives for

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, they chucked the tablets they used for writing and ran to Dacianus’ residence to bear witness of their faith to the point of martyrdom, despite their young age. They confessed to Dacianus that they were Christians and were reluctant to sacrifice to idols. He tried to win them over with gifts, but he was unable to persuade them. They were viciously

flogged Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging ...

for denouncing the Roman religion and later

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...

outside the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

city of Alcalá de Henares (known in Roman times as Complutum).

Veneration

Relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

believed to be those of Justus and Pastor were discovered in the 8th century and taken to

Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, almo ...

. In 1568, they were brought back to Alcalá de Henares and interred beneath the high altar of the city's Cathedral-Magistral of Saints Justus and Pastor (known familiarly as the Catedral de los Santos Niños). Constructed between 1497 and 1514,the ancient cathedral is still in daily use, and the saints' tomb is accessible to the public. The Basilica of Saints Justus and Pastor in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

was erected in the 16th century in the

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths ** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...

Narbonne Cathedral Narbonne Cathedral (''Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne'') is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Narbonne, France. The cathedral is a national monument and dedicated to Saints Justus and Pastor. It was the seat of t ...

located in the town of

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...

in southern France is also dedicated to Justus and Pastor.

In popular culture

The story of Justus and Pastor is mentioned in the 2001 film '' The Others'', where it is read by Nicholas ( James Bentley), with his sister Anne (Alakina Mann) sitting nearby, under the supervision of their mother Grace Stewart (

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

). The children find the story amusing, where Anne criticises Justus and Pastor as being "really stupid" for facing a gruesome martyrdom, when they could have lied to spare their lives. She tells her mother (Kidman), "Inside I would have believed in Him, but I wouldn’t have told the Romans that."The Others (2001) Review
by decentfilms.com

References

External links

Saints of August 6
{{DEFAULTSORT:Justus and Pastor 3rd-century births 304 deaths Christian child saints Saints from Hispania Saints duos 4th-century Christian martyrs 4th-century Romans Spanish children Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Executed children

Martyrdom

Veneration

In popular culture

See also

References

External links