Q. The legends surrounding St. George (feast day April 23) seem rather extravagant. What do we actually know about this popular hero of the faith?
A. We know that he was a fourth-century martyr, but very little beyond that is known with certainty. Ancient tradition holds that he was a Roman soldier tortured and beheaded for his faith in the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in a.d. 303.