Career

According to tradition, Eustace was born with the Roman name of Placidus and served as a general in the Roman army under the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. While hunting one day, he beheld a stag with a crucifix between its horns and heard a voice saying that he would suffer much for Christ's sake. He and his family became Christians and were subsequently put to death for refusing to sacrifice to the Roman gods. Eustace is the patron saint of hunters and of the city of Madrid, Spain. His feast day is celebrated in the Western Church on September 20 and in the Eastern Church on November 2.