Saint Philip
Feast day: May 3
Saint Philip, the Apostle from Bethsaida who invited his friend: Come and see! (03/05)
Who is he?
Saint Philip is one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, from the same town of Bethsaida as Saint Andrew and Saint Peter (cf. Jn 1:44). The Church celebrates him on the same day as Saint James the Less.
Life story
One day, Jesus met Philip and said: “Follow me” (Jn 1:43). He followed him right away. Full of joy, he went to find Nathanael and told him the news: the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets too, they had found him: Jesus of Nazareth (cf. Jn 1:45). Nathanael doubted: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip didn’t argue; he only answered: “Come and see” (Jn 1:46). Nathanael came, met Jesus and believed.
Once, a huge crowd followed Jesus to a lonely place. Jesus asked Philip: “How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (Jn 6:5). Jesus asked this to test him. Philip worked it out in his head and said that even two hundred days’ wages of bread would not be enough. Right after that, Jesus worked the miracle of the loaves and everyone ate until they were full.
Another time, some Greeks who had come up to Jerusalem asked Philip to let them see Jesus. He went and told Saint Andrew, and the two of them went together to tell Jesus (cf. Jn 12:20-22).
At the Last Supper, he said: “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” Jesus answered: “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:8-9). When we look at Jesus, we see how much the Father loves us.
According to tradition, he preached the Gospel in Asia Minor, which is now part of Turkey, and was martyred in the city of Hierapolis. Today, his relics are venerated in the Church of the Twelve Apostles in Rome.
Why is he a saint?
Saint Philip followed Jesus right away and joyfully brought others to him. He was not afraid to ask Jesus about things he didn’t understand, and that is how he came to know the Father through Jesus. He faithfully preached the Gospel until his death.
A lesson for you
- When you learn something wonderful about God, tell your friends and invite them: “Come and see!”
- When you face something too hard for you, bring it to Jesus like Saint Philip; the Lord has a way to help you.
- If you want to know God as Father, read the Gospel to meet Jesus every day.
Identifying marks
- A staff with a cross on top: he preached Jesus crucified; according to tradition, he too died on a cross.
- A basket of barley loaves: it recalls when Jesus asked him where to buy bread to feed the crowd, before the miracle of the loaves (cf. Jn 6:5-7).
- The lake and a boat in Galilee: he came from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.
- A small dragon (*): according to the book of saints’ stories called the Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea), he drove out a dragon hiding under a pagan idol in the land of Scythia.
(*) Only in some pictures and statues.
The text on this page is the saint card in the Catholic Information app, word for word.
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