In 304 during the persecution of Diocletian, Dacian, the brutal governor of Spain, pursued and tortured Christians in the town of Alcala. When Justus and Pastor, two Christian schoolboys age 13 and 9 respectively, learned of his butchery, they rushed to encourage the martyrs and even to join them. Dacian was enraged to see children brave his authority. For punishment, he had the boys beaten mercilessly. But Justus and Pastor stood firm in their faith. They encouraged one another to endure the whipping. Embarrassed by his failure to vanquish the boys, Dacian had them privately beheaded away from the crowd in a nearby field. Justus and Pastor died as martyrs in 304.
