Nothing is known about St. Sebastian's youth other than the fact he may have come from southern France and he was educated in Milan. He joined the Roman Army in 283 AD, intending to be of service to other Christians who were being persecuted by the Romans. St. Sebastian distinguished himself and for his excellent service, he was promoted to serve in the Praetorian Guard to protect Emperor Diocletian. When it was discovered that he was a Christian who had converted many soldiers, Sebastian was ordered to be killed by having him tied to a stake on a training field and used as target practice. Archers riddled his body with arrows and left him for dead. But a Christian widow nursed him back to health. Returning to surprise Diocletian, Sebastian criticized him for persecuting the Christians. Angered, Diocletian then condemned him to death by beating. His body, thrown into a sewer, was found by another pious woman, who buried his remains in the catacombs beneath Rome. Some of his relics remain in a special case today in Ebersberg; others are believed to be in the Basilica of San Sebastiano on the Appian Way, to which many pilgrims were attracted in the Middle Ages. St. Sebastian was commonly invoked as a protector against the plague. According to historical records, he defended the city of Rome against the plague in 680. His association with the plague could be because he survived being shot full of arrows and in pagan belief, pestilence was delivered by arrows shot by the gods above. The symbolism is even captured in artwork as late as the Renaissance, where artists painted plague victims with black arrows in their body. In artwork, such as at The Sanctuary Museum, St. Sebastian is depicted with arrows shot into his body, often tied to a post or a tree. His second execution is virtually never depicted.