In his essay “The Red Angel,” G.K. Chesterton elaborated on the importance of fairy tales for children, explaining that their relevance lies not in showing children that dragons exist, but in giving them “a St. George who can kill the dragon.” There are those today who would read this and assert that of course, the story of St. George is nothing more than a fairy tale passed on by mothers to the small children at their feet. Some have claimed that St. George is little more than myth—that if he did exist, he couldn’t have really killed a dragon, but that the dragon instead represents sin, personal vice, or even heresy.  But in an age that is flooded with secular myths—the modern-day superheroes—it is fitting for Catholics, especially those with young children, to trust in and perpetuate the legends that have been safeguarded in centuries of Christian tradition. In this age, as in every age, we are in great need of heroes and saints like St. George who can conquer the dragons. 

Butler’s Lives of the Saints tells us that St. George was a Christian knight, born in Cappadocia in the third century, who in his travels discovered a city that was besieged by a dragon. In order to satisfy the beast’s bloodlust, the people had surrendered all of their sheep; when they exhausted their supply, they decided to sacrifice a human instead. To determine what man, woman, or child would be given up to the dragon, they drew lots, and it was to be the daughter of the king. Dressed as a bride, the young girl approached the dragon, but St. George, seeing the maiden in distress, came to her aid and subdued the beast. He brought the dragon, now chastened and meek, back to the city and promised to kill the beast if the people would leave behind their paganism and convert to Christianity. Butler notes that his sources claim that over fifteen thousand men—not including women and children—were baptized that day.  

Although St. George has been best known for this story since the Middle Ages—a story Butler acknowledges first appeared in the twelfth century—from a Christian perspective, it pales in comparison to the easily verifiable fact of his martyrdom, in which Butler says there is “every reason to believe.” During the persecution under Diocletian, George was tortured, and many attempts—which failed—were made on his life; many conversions too proceeded from these failed attempts, including the wife of his principal torturer, Datianus. After glorifying God in his sufferings and converting many souls to Christianity, St. George was finally decapitated and received his martyr’s crown in heaven. 

What lessons, then, are there to be learned from St. George today, in an age so far removed from the times in which he lived and witnessed to the Gospel? While we need not cower in fear before scaly monstrosities with impenetrable skin, sharp claws, and fiery breath, more fearful beasts still demand our courage—more fearful because, as Our Lord Himself says in the Gospels, “Fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Today, we must stand firmly against the many popular ideologies that oppose traditional Catholic teaching on marriage, family, and the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. As St. George defends and rescues the fair princess, so too must we defend the dignity of women and children—especially the dignity of those most vulnerable of all human beings, the unborn. 

There is also, of course, the dragon that we must all individually conquer: sin. Even in paradise, when Adam and Eve walked with God, the dragon encountered the woman and caused her to sin. Even in the height of Christendom, dragons needed to be slaughtered by those who were striving for sanctity. And even today, we must confront and conquer our own dragons if we want to become saints like St. George, armed with nothing but our faith in Christ. 

It can be difficult to read the stories of the saints and believe that the miracles God worked through them could be worked through us, but dragons are conquered every day; and we can conquer these dragons too. That is why in His wisdom, the Lord gave us St. George—that we too might know that dragons can be defeated.