St. Eustachius is honored every Sept. 20 with a feast day for those who follow the pre-1970 Roman calendar. Often depicted with a hunter’s bow, cross, and stag symbol, he’s the patron saint of hunters and hunting along with fire prevention, firefighters, and challenging situations. He lived in the Second Century.
A nobleman who converted to Christianity, he was a Roman general who was overcome with a vision of Christ’s crucifixion while hunting deer in Tivoli. Adversity in many forms afflicted him after that. He was persecuted and martyred in Rome during the reign of Adrian and Theopista,
Eustachius and his martyrdom were honored with a church built in Rome. His body lay in the church until its transfer to St. Denis in France. The Huguenots pillaged his shrine and burned some of his bones in 1567. The bones of Eustachius still reside at St. Eustachius parish church in Paris.
