Saints Eustace and His Companions, Martyrs
Ss. Eustachii et Sociorum Martyrum
Saints Eustace and his companions are honoured by the Church among the martyrs of the early ages, venerated from ancient times though little can now be known with certainty of their lives.
On the twentieth of September the Church keeps the memory of Saint Eustace and his companions, martyrs honoured at Rome from early times. Their veneration is ancient and was once widespread, a church in Rome being dedicated under the title of Saint Eustace; yet of the events of their lives little can now be affirmed with historical certainty.
What is told and what is known
The story long associated with Saint Eustace relates that he was a soldier, converted to Christ by a vision of the Cross seen between the antlers of a stag while he was hunting; that he and his family endured many sufferings and were long separated; and that at the last, refusing to forsake the faith, they were put to death together for Christ. This narrative, beautiful and much beloved, belongs to the kind of pious account whose details cannot be confirmed from reliable history, and the Church proposes it with prudence, distinguishing the certain from the uncertain.
What the Church holds with confidence is that Saint Eustace and his companions were venerated as martyrs from antiquity, and that they are numbered among the great company of those who in the early ages bore witness to Christ at the cost of their lives. Where the particulars are wanting, the faithful are not the poorer; for the martyr’s glory lies not in the fullness of his history but in his fidelity to Christ, and these holy ones belong to that communion of saints whose names are written in heaven.
The Collect
Patronage
Saint Eustace is honoured among the early martyrs and has long been venerated as a patron of huntsmen and, with other holy soldiers, of those in time of difficulty.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this commemoration is no longer kept on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Eustace?
It is kept on 20 September in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Fourth Class feast. In the modern calendar it is no longer observed on the universal calendar.
Who was Saint Eustace?
He is honoured as an early martyr venerated at Rome from ancient times, traditionally remembered as a soldier converted to Christ who, with his companions, suffered death for the faith. The details of his story belong to pious tradition and cannot be confirmed from reliable history; what is certain is his ancient veneration as a martyr.
Why does the Church honour a saint whose history is uncertain?
The veneration of Saint Eustace and his companions is ancient and well attested, even where the particulars of their lives are not. The Church honours them as faithful witnesses to Christ, trusting that their names are written in heaven, and counts them among the communion of saints whose constancy she holds up for our example.
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