Quick Profile of St. Paul

From: Saints.SQPN.com


Also known as

• Apostle Paul
• Apostle to the Gentiles
• Paul of Tarsus
• Saul of Tarsus

Memorial

• 25 January (celebration of his conversion)
  
• 16 February (Saint Paul Shipwrecked)
• 29 June (celebration of Saint Peter and Saint Paul as co-founders of the Church)
• 18 November (feast of the dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul)

Profile

Jewish Talmudic student. Pharisee. Tent-maker by trade. Saul the Jew hated and persecuted Christians as heretical, even assisting at the stoning of Saint Stephen the Martyr. On his way to Damascus, Syria, to arrest another group of faithful, he was knocked to the ground, struck blind by a heavenly light, and given the message that in persecuting Christians, he was persecuting Christ. The experience had a profound spiritual effect on him, causing his conversion to Christianity. He was baptized, changed his name to Paul to reflect his new persona, and began travelling, preaching and teaching. His letters to the churches he help found form a large percentage of the New Testament. Knew and worked with many of the earliest saints and fathers of the Church. Martyr.