St. John the Evangelist
The Beloved Disciple
The disciple who leaned on the Lord's breast at the Supper, stood beneath the Cross when the others had fled, and was given the Mother of God as his own.
- Feast
- December 27
- Lived
- First century, died c. AD 100 at Ephesus
Invoked For
- Theologians
- Writers
- Friendship
- Against poison
His Life
John was a fisherman of Galilee, son of Zebedee and brother of James. The two were called from their boat while mending nets, and Jesus named them Sons of Thunder — a hint that the evangelist of love was not by nature a mild man.
He belongs to the inner three, present at the Transfiguration and in the garden of Gethsemane. At the Last Supper it is John who reclines next to the Lord, and in his own Gospel he never uses his name, calling himself only "the disciple whom Jesus loved."
He alone of the Twelve stood at the Cross. There he received the words that the Church has treasured ever since: "Woman, behold thy son... behold thy mother." And from that hour he took her into his own home.
On Easter morning he ran to the tomb, outran Peter, and waited at the entrance for him — then saw the linen cloths and believed. Tradition places his last years at Ephesus, where he cared for Our Lady, wrote the fourth Gospel and three letters, and was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he received the Revelation. He is held to be the only apostle who did not die a martyr's death.
The Path to Sainthood
St. John is a pre-congregation saint, honored from the earliest days as apostle and evangelist. His feast falls on December 27, within the octave of Christmas — placed among the companions of the newborn Christ.
He is one of the four evangelists, and his symbol is the eagle, because his Gospel opens by gazing directly into the light: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
There is an old and touching tradition, recorded by St. Jerome, that in extreme old age at Ephesus he could no longer preach at length, and would be carried in to the assembly to say only: "Little children, love one another."
Prayers to St. John the Evangelist
Tap any prayer to open it large and clear — set for reading aloud. Close it to return here and choose another.