Saint of the Day

01 · Read · A life to discover

St. Andrew the Apostle

Andrew was one of Jesus's twelve apostles, a fisherman from Bethsaida, and the brother of Simon Peter. John's Gospel gives him a distinctive role in introducing other people to Jesus, beginning with his own brother.

Initially associated with John the Baptist, Andrew followed Jesus after hearing John's testimony. The Gospel account then describes him bringing Simon to meet the person he had recognized as the Messiah. His role is personal and relational rather than one defined by long recorded speeches.

Other passages show Andrew drawing attention to a boy with loaves and fish before the feeding of the crowd and helping Greek visitors who wished to see Jesus. Acts places him among the apostles gathered in Jerusalem after the Ascension. These scriptural scenes provide the clearest basis for his biography.

The New Testament does not describe his death. Accounts of missions around the Black Sea and martyrdom at Patras belong to subsequent Christian tradition. The diagonal cross familiar in his art is part of that devotional history, not an eyewitness detail supplied by the Gospels. His November 30 feast honors an apostle remembered for responding to Jesus and bringing others into that encounter.

This saint is included on this recurring date in the U.S. Roman Rite calendar published by the USCCB. This reading guide gives U.S. calendar saints priority; the Mass celebrated on a particular year’s date can differ because of Sundays, seasons or higher-ranking celebrations.