Stephen was the first Christian Martyr whose day is celebrated today Dec. 26, The Feast of St. Stephen. He is the patron of stonemasons, masons, bricklayers, deacons, headaches, and horses
St. Stephen, full of “grace and power” was one of the seven original deacons of the Church who were ordained by the Apostles to care for widows and the poor. His story is in Acts 6:8 to 8:1.
He was stoned to death in AD 34 in controversy with the Jewish priests in ascertaining that much of the old traditional laws of the Jews had been overturned by Jesus.St. Paul not only witnessed the event but held the garments of those stoning Stephen which he regretted later on and carried a lasting sense of guilt.
The Grateful Dead song “St. Stephen” is about this martyr:
“Saint Stephen with a rose
In and out of the garden he goes
Country garland in the wind and the rain
Wherever he goes the people all complain”
This is a hymn “The Truth Above” sung on this day by Ralph Vaughan Williams
See this link for more about St. Stephen – https://www.news.churchsp.org/ststephen/