Feast day: 29 June
Saint Paul the Apostle
Sanctus Paulus Apostolus
A persecutor of Christians struck down on the road to Damascus, who became the greatest missionary of the apostolic age and author of thirteen New Testament letters.
29 June with Saint Peter; the Conversion of Saint Paul is celebrated on 25 January.
- Born
- Tarsus, Cilicia (Turkey); born Saul, a Roman citizen and Pharisee
- Died
- Beheaded at Rome, traditionally c. AD 64–67
- Canonization
- Venerated from apostolic times; no formal canonization process existed.
- Country
- Cilicia (Turkey) and Rome
Biography
Pharisee and persecutor
Saul was born at Tarsus, a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, a Roman citizen by birth, trained in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. He approved of the stoning of Saint Stephen and set out to arrest Christians.
The road to Damascus
On the road to Damascus a light from heaven threw him to the ground and a voice said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Blinded, he was led into the city and baptized by Ananias. After time in Arabia and Tarsus he began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God.
Missionary journeys and martyrdom
Paul made three great missionary journeys through Cyprus, Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece, founding communities and writing letters to them. He defended the admission of Gentiles without circumcision at the Council of Jerusalem. Arrested in Jerusalem, he appealed to Caesar as a Roman citizen, was shipwrecked at Malta and reached Rome under guard. Tradition holds he was beheaded there — a citizen's death — and buried on the road to Ostia, where the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls now stands.
Timeline
- ~c. AD 34 — Conversion on the road to Damascus
- ~c. AD 46–49 — First missionary journey
- ~c. AD 49 — Council of Jerusalem
- ~c. AD 50–58 — Second and third journeys; most of his letters
- ~c. AD 60 — Arrives in Rome after shipwreck at Malta
- ~c. AD 64–67 — Beheaded outside Rome
Dates marked ~ are traditional or debated among historians.
Symbols
Sword — His beheading, and the word of God as 'the sword of the Spirit' (Ephesians 6:17).
Book or scroll — His letters, which form a large part of the New Testament.
Virtues & spiritual lessons
Zeal, endurance under suffering, boldness in preaching and total dependence on grace. He teaches that God's power is made perfect in weakness.
Importance in the Church
Paul carried the Gospel beyond Judaism to the Greco-Roman world and articulated the doctrine of justification, the Body of Christ and Christian freedom. His letters are read at Mass throughout the year.
Quotes
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
Galatians 2:20
Writings
Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon — Letters universally accepted by scholars as written by Paul himself.
Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus — Also canonical and attributed to Paul; their direct authorship is debated among scholars.
Prayers
Collect for the Conversion of Saint Paul
O God, who taught the whole world through the preaching of the blessed Apostle Paul, draw us, we pray, nearer to you through the example of him whose conversion we celebrate today, and so make us witnesses to your truth in the world. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect of the Roman Missal for 25 January.
Places
Tarsus, Turkey — His birthplace.
Damascus, Syria — Site of his conversion and baptism.
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome — Built over his traditional tomb on the Via Ostiensis.
Scripture
Acts 9:1–19 — The conversion on the road to Damascus.
1 Corinthians 13 — His hymn to charity.
Entries are drawn from the Roman Martyrology, the General Roman Calendar, canonization records of the Holy See, and the saints' own writings. Where a date, quotation or attribution is uncertain, it is marked as such. (63 saints)