Calle de San Justo, Madrid

Why the Name?

San Justo is the Spanish for Saint Justus. Justus and his friend, Pastor, were schoolboys in the early 4th century and lived near modern day Alcalá de Henares. Justus was 13 and Pastor was younger than 9. 

As always in early Christian tales, their end was not a happy one. During the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Diocletian, the boys were flogged for reciting the catechism and then beheaded.

You’ll find a relief of the two saints on the exterior of the Basílica Pontificia de San Miguel.