Augustine, Sanctian, and Beata are commemorated together as martyrs of the third century who suffered near Sens in Gaul, in what is now east-central France. By tradition they were Christians from Spain who fled to Gaul to escape persecution and were put to death there around the year 273. They are venerated among the pre-schism Western saints of the undivided Church.
The sources describe the group in slightly different terms. Sanctian (also called Sanctianus) and Beata (also Benedicta) are named as brother and sister, with Augustine (Augustinus) and the further companions Aubertus and Felix among those martyred with them. The Catholic Encyclopedia lists them as Spaniards martyred at Sens and identifies them as companions of the martyr Columba, who is also associated with the persecution at Sens.
The historical record concerning the group is uncertain. The surviving Acts of the martyrdom of Sanctian, Augustine, and Beata are judged to date only from the end of the eighth or the beginning of the ninth century, long after the events they describe. Later scholarship has also questioned whether Beata was in fact the sister of Sanctian, suggesting she may instead have been a local holy woman who came to be commemorated alongside them.
